America's Cup: reset for Alinghi Red Bull Racing

Day 4’s schedule of the Louis Vuitton Cup first saw Alinghi Red Bull Racing facing Emirates Team New Zealand, but the race didn’t go ahead after the Swiss team experienced issues with their mainsail and arrived late to the start. The second match, against favourites Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, showed a stronger side of the Swiss Challenger as they took the lead in some early crossings of the race. Despite not scoring any points, the Swiss team’s improved performance today suggests they remain competitive ahead of the next Round Robin.

After a few days of frustrating results, Day 4 of the Louis Vuitton Cup saw Alinghi Red Bull Racing begin to gather steam, though their efforts didn’t result in points. A mainsail issue delayed Alinghi Red Bull Racing from reaching the course boundary on time for their first match opposite New Zealand, resulting in the Swiss team’s disqualification from the race, but they used the opportunity for a few legs of practice racing alongside the Defender. Up next was the Swiss team’s match against the top-performing team of the Round Robins so far, the Italian Challenger, and after a clean start the Swiss team showed an improved performance on the water from previous days. Although they didn’t secure a win, the day marked somewhat of a reset for the Swiss Challenger who has now completed half of their Round Robin matches.

The next race for Alinghi Red Bull Racing will be opposite the Orient Express Racing Team for the opening match of the second Round Robin stage on Tuesday 3rd September. Click here for today’s race results and current standings.

Maxime Bachelin, Helmsman: “Finally being able to start is a good feeling. With the performance of the boat, we know we can compete with the others. We know the Italians are one of the fastest Challengers, so it was encouraging to see that when we fell back, we could catch up. The Power Group did an amazing job, so it's always great to have them backing you up. We were also happy to see the breeze back, and for the shore team to get us sailing again despite the issue we had before going out. It was a good race, and we’re happy to be in the mix.”

Paul Jacquot, Cyclor: “Crossing the line on time definitely makes racing more fun. But we’re here to win, so that’s the next step, and today was a step in the right direction. Let's keep moving in that direction. We need to start winning races. We’ve taken our marks, and now it's time to deliver.”

Silvio Arrivabene, Co-General Manager: “Today we got our ducks in a row, and we had a good start against probably the strongest team, and certainly the strongest match racers in the fleet at the moment. We were able to stay in the game during the race, so I’m really proud of the guys, and it’s a way of breaking free from these past three days which have been difficult. The mission in this regatta is just to beat whoever you need to beat to get through to the next stage. And that's completely open, and we’re going to be extremely focused on achieving that come Tuesday morning.