Alinghi Red Bull Racing starting four announced for America's Cup Preliminary Regatta
by Alinghi Red Bull Racing 11 Sep 2023 11:56 BST
14-17 September 2023
(L to R) Maxime Bachelin, Bryan Mettraux, Arnaud Psarofaghis and Yves Detrey of Switzerland and Alinghi Red Bull Racing pose for a group © Alinghi Red Bull Racing
After a year of training and testing various crew configurations, Alinghi Red Bull Racing has selected four experienced sailors with multiple top sailing trophies between them, Arnaud Psarofaghis, Bryan Mettraux and Yves Detrey, along with the young talent Maxime Bachelin, to be the starting crew this weekend in Vilanova i la Geltrú, Spain.
Alinghi Red Bull Racing today announced its four starting crew members for the America's Cup Preliminary Regatta in Vilanova i la Geltrú, Spain, scheduled from September 14-17. They include helmsmen Arnaud Psarofaghis (35) and Maxime Bachelin (25), and trimmers Bryan Mettraux (33) and Yves Detrey (44) on-board the Alinghi Red Bull Racing AC40. Helmsman Nicolas Charbonnier (42) and two trimmers Nicolas Rolaz (23) and Lucien Cujean (34) were named as reserve crew while the four sailing team advisors will also be onsite to continue evaluating the team framework.
For the past year of training in Barcelona, Alinghi Red Bull Racing has been rotating its crew across the two AC40s and the AC75 on a regular basis with an emphasis on learning and communication between team members. With a second AC40 crew pushing each other throughout testing, the team was able to elevate its performance-level and assess various set-ups during two-boat testing.
"We wanted as a priority to have everyone improving. And by doing this, we learned what was the first configuration in terms of communication between the guys. We chose the four sailors and worked on the best two pairs that worked well together," said Pietro Sibello, Sailing Team Advisor.
The America's Cup Preliminary Regatta will feature all six America's Cup entries including Emirates Team New Zealand, INEOS Britannia, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, NYYC American Magic and Orient Express Racing Team competing in fleet racing over the first few days with the top two teams proceeding to a final head-to-head match race on Sunday.
"This first AC40 pre-regatta in Vilanova marks an important step in our preparation, with many others to follow. It will allow us to test many elements, both on the human and technical aspects," said Skipper Arnaud Psarofaghis.
"Like every time we compete, the goal is to win! But for the first regatta of this America's Cup cycle, the objective is also to gain experience," said Bryan Mettraux. "My personal goal is to be comfortable putting my head out of the boat as much as possible and being good at communicating. This is what will make the difference."
The racing action is scheduled daily from 15h30-17h30 starting with the practice races on Thursday and can be watched in person in Vilanova, out on the water from a boat or streamed live on the America's Cup website and YouTube channel. No tickets are needed but those watching from the water are advised to sign up and register their boat for on-water viewing. Other events will be happening each day at the race village and Alinghi Red Bull Racing will feature its own booth in Vilanova throughout the regatta.
Quotes:
Pietro Sibello, Sailing Team Advisor: "This is the first real benchmark for the team. Especially for the sailing team with one design boats. After one year of sailing in Barcelona, we're really looking forward to this event. As we did a big amount of training with the two AC40s, we feel prepared and our racing crew, as well. The full team is pushing to help the racing crew to perform at its best. With the sailing team and sailing team advisors on the water, we had a strong team that grew every day
Arnaud is the leader of the group on this boat, and for sure he's driving the sailing team on and off the water. Max showed, despite his young age and experience, he has great talent. He has good potential to grow through next year's America's Cup. Bryan and Yves are the most experienced trimmers on the team - reliable on and off the water. They lead their groups and have shown they can perform very well."
Bryan Mettraux, Driving Group: "Sailing with Arnaud and Yves is a pleasure, I have known them for a long time. We are super happy to sail together and welcome Max. He has shown recently that he totally has his place on board. There is quite a gap in age between him and us but despite this it was easy to integrate Max. We come from the same region, we have similar sailing experiences. We made our choice between experience and youth. A lot of others are pushing behind to get their place on board, it's great, it raises the level. But we thought this was the best crew now to represent the team."