The inclement and unseasonal conditions that have dogged Barcelona all week continued on Friday as Alinghi Red Bull Racing took the ‘big bull’ their AC75, out early for a morning of testing and photo shoots with a helicopter overhead in a ‘Gregal Llevant’ breeze from the northeast that barely touched 10 knots.

With grey skies as a backdrop, the AC75 juxtaposed the gloom and Arnaud Psarofaghis and Maxime Bachelin put in a solid performance, particularly early on, in the more consistent breeze. Noticeable was the demand to fly lower upwind with BoatZero looking more than comfortable in the bow-down pitch that the team prefer with a little bit of windward heel.

Onboard the AC75 on Friday was Yves Courvoisier, one of the Swiss team’s research and development engineers with a particular focus on development of the simulator tool that Alinghi Red Bull Racing have put a lot of work into over the past year. Correlating the simulations with on-water polars and targets is what all teams in this America’s Cup cycle are working towards and Yves offers an insight into the laser-like focus that the Swiss are deploying and concentrating on key components as well as integrating machine-learning and AI into the tool. It’s a rare glimpse inside an area that, by its very nature, is the team’s most valuable piece of intellectual property with many believing that the America’s Cup is already won in the super-computers that are running 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Fascinating insight and a look to the future of where the world of design and technology in the America’s Cup is heading.