After years of preparation and their recent first taste of AC75 racing, Alinghi Red Bull Racing is now primed for the 37th America’s Cup with the Louis Vuitton Cup set to kick off this Thursday. This event is made up three stages and will see all six teams compete to determine which one gets the chance to challenge the Defender Emirates Team New Zealand and win the overall title.

Throughout last week’s preliminary regatta, which was the first time in the competition the AC75s have raced, the Swiss Challenger consistently displayed aggressive and well-coordinated tactics during the pre-start phase, allowing them to gain early advantages in several races. “Last week we finally got some real-life opportunities against the top match racers in the world – to learn and to check in with them and see where we are,” said Silvio Arrivabene, the team’s Co-General Manager. “All the hard work we've put into pre-start training is clearly paying off, as we've seen some excellent starts from the guys so far.”

The three days gap from racing has been used by Alinghi Red Bull Racing to work on their boat speed by implementing design findings and reviewing boat handling so BoatOne is used at its full potential. Each day of racing is making the team stronger and faster, and so the team’s skipper Arnaud Psarofaghis is eager to get on the racetrack. “We know we have a boat that can win races and a crew that can sail well. Finally we are fighting for real, and the crew is hungry for more competition, so we’re all really excited to start racing against the other boats.”

Arrivabene added: “Last week showed that all the teams are in the game and we’re up for some really exciting and competitive racing. We are ready to go.”

Alinghi Red Bull Racing’s first Louis Vuitton Cup match will be against the French Challenger on Thursday 29th August.