Ben Ainslie Racing confirm team for 2012-13 Americas Cup World Series
by Ben Ainslie Racing 17 Jul 2012 10:04 BST
17 July 2012
Russell Coutts fully backs Ainslie’s goal to create his own future America’s Cup team © BAR / Lloyd Images
The team are no strangers to racing on the wingsailed multihull. Ainslie will be switching from his 15ft singlehanded dinghy to a 45ft catamaran, and with only four days training between the Olympics and the first America's Cup World Series (ACWS) race in San Francisco, this experience will be vital.
- Ben Ainslie (helm)
- Simon Daubney (headsail trimmer)
- Kyle Langford (wing trimmer)
- Matt Mitchell (runner)
- Simeon Tienpont (bow)
There will be just 11 days between the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics and Ainslie's America's Cup World Series debut. "I can't wait to get racing in the America's Cup World Series for the first time and with a new team. Personally, it will be a real challenge to get to grips with the powerful AC45s in a limited time frame but the guys in the team are all great sailors and have the experience to get us on the pace as quickly as possible".
Daubney is a four time America's Cup winner and raced with Ainslie in the 1851 Cup in Cowes back in 2010. Langford, like Ainslie is a former Youth World Champion and is relishing competing with his new skipper. "Sailing with Ben will be great, I've sailed against him a lot in the match racing circuit and this style of racing suits his aggressive style perfectly. Going from the Finn to the AC45 will be a bit of a change but as Ben has shown, he can win in any class and it won't take him long to adopt to the speed and race format of the ACWS."
Tienpont and Mitchell are both America's Cup winners who have previously raced in the America's Cup World Series with skippers Russell Coutts, the four times America's Cup winner, and double Olympic medallist Darren Bundock. They will ensure BAR a fast track into the second season of the America's Cup World Series competition.
Between now and arriving in San Francisco, Ainslie will have his attention completely focused on defending his Olympic title in the Finn class at London 2012.