Time to turn up the heat for Alinghi Red Bull Racing
by Alinghi Red Bull Racing 31 Aug 19:26 BST
29 August - 7 October 2024
INEOS Britannia vs. Alinghi Red Bull Racing on Louis Vuitton Cup Round Robin 1 Day 3 © Ian Roman / AmericasCup
On the third day of the Louis Vuitton Cup, Alinghi Red Bull Racing's match against the British was practically over before it began. Going into the start, the British team manoeuvred ahead, stalling the Swiss boat in dirty air.
Once BoatOne was back up flying again, in winds of 6-7 knots their only hope to close the one kilometre gap was for the British boat to also fall off its foils. In the final leg, for a moment that looked like a possibility but the British just about stayed up to win the match. With the wind dropping further, the second match against Emirates Team New Zealand was postponed, with extra races scheduled for tomorrow.
Arnaud Psarofaghis, Skipper: "Right now, we're making our lives too hard, and too easy for our opponents. We have to sail the boat the way we know we can."
Brad Butterworth, Board Member: "Firstly, we need to get off the start line. We've had three bad starts, and we've lost three races. You're up against the best guys in the world at this, so you can't give them a start. You can't give them anything. When the British team checked in front of us, it put us off our foils, and that was basically the end of the race for us. You can't rely on them dropping off or the race being abandoned or whatever. You've got to race in the conditions you've got."
Augustin Maillefer, Cyclor: "When you're on a pre-start and you see the boat falling from the foils, as a cyclor you know it's going to be hard because you have to make the boat fly again. And then you are going to have to catch up with the other boat.
Emotionally, during the race, you're just focused. You don't have time to think too negatively. You know it's not the situation you want to be in, but directly, what can you do? You do everything you can until the end, and we saw on the final leg that actually it could have paid off. You have to stay as a team, working together, because if you don't, it makes nothing work."