Orient Express Racing Team bow out of the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup
Orient Express Racing Team bow out of the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup
Orient Express Racing Team's remarkable journey in the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup ended in Barcelona today, with the French challenger disappointed but proud of the amount they had been able to achieve in a short space of time.
In their final race in the Louis Vuitton Cup Round Robin phase, Quentin Delapierre's crew had to beat the British INEOS Britannia team to have a chance of remaining in the Cup. Though they were level at the start the British boat pulled ahead and the French team were unable to find a passing lane.
Understandable regret at the outcome was mixed with a sense of pride at how far the entire Orient Express Racing Team had come, and the knowledge that the experience gained would provide a solid foundation for a future attempt to win the America's Cup for France.
With the project only launched in February last year, and with only 46 hours of 'flying time' since the team received their AC75 on June 6, all involved had known there was a mountain to climb.
"The whole team has been getting stronger and stronger, and our ambition is to come back," said skipper and pilot Delapierre. "When we do, we will have to be better, we were missing a bit of an edge this time. Overall though what we have achieved has been pretty significant, but unfortunately, we were not able to get into the Semi Final."
And he added: "I would like to congratulate all the shore crew for the work that they did. What this team has achieved in just one year, and being able to compete against those much more experienced teams, is unbelievable."
Delapierre today raced with fellow co-pilot Kevin Peponnet, trimmers Jason Saunders and Matthieu Vandamme, and powerhouse cyclors Timothé Lapauw, Antoine Nougarède and brothers Rémi and Thibaut Verhoeven.
The overall ambition and sense of accomplishment was also highlighted by the CEO of Orient Express Racing Team, Stephan Kandler.
"We are disappointed, and that's something we have to digest, but we knew we were starting from a long way back. We managed to catch up, to make progress, and to reduce our deficit.
"What is clear is that you need a significant number of days on the water with these boats to match the level of the other teams and that is certainly something we lacked. Time is costly and we spent a lot of ours trying to make up for lost time. I believe we made very good choices in this regard, and there is nothing to regret.
"If we get out of a competition mindset for a moment and look at the big picture, the results are very encouraging. We now have an AC75, an AC40, a hydrogen foiler, a mobile base and a main headquarters being set up in the city of Lorient, and talent in all areas to manage an AC75, thanks to this Orient Express Racing Team project.
"We're determined to be involved in the next edition of the America’s Cup and in other intermediate projects that will enable us to keep part of the team. It's up to us to bounce back and come back stronger for the 38th. We wish the other Challengers and the Defender a great race. May the best team win!"
