Since revealing their LEQ12 design back in 2022 (Palma, Mallorca), Sir Ben Ainslie’s INEOS Britannia team have clearly signalled deep-intent that they mean business in the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup. In their partnership with Mercedes Formula 1, the technological advancements and data communication seen on the racetrack, appear to have now hit the water, with the LEQ12’s system being live linked back to Mission Control bases in both Palma and Brackley Northamptonshire. It’s clear the team are prioritising accuracy, precision and extracting maximum data, and they’ve been pushing the boat and themselves to their limits to achieve this. In May 2024, it all made sense when the team’s AC75 design was revealed – radically different and certainly innovative.
It’s under a month to go before racing commences, and Sir Ben Ainslie (Chief Executive Officer and Helm for INEOS Britannia) has reported on how his team is getting on…
“Yeah good, like everyone we’re excited about getting into racing and getting a better read on the competition – who’s going fast and in what sort of conditions and of course gauging what the racing is going to look like as we get into the round robins. It’s our opportunity to gauge ourselves against the opposition and start to get match fit. Of course, we will inevitably still be making changes to the set-up of the boat through the Preliminary Regatta, then into the Round Robins and as we progress through the competition so it’s constantly tweaking the boat to try and find that optimum performance.”
And, looking ahead at the competition, Sir Ben Ainslie said…
“I would imagine, like everyone else, the Kiwis in particular, as the form team obviously from the last Cup and I think in the sailing we’ve seen so far Luna Rossa and American Magic seem to be going well, and of course there’s an element of unknown with the French, obviously you’d expect similar performance to New Zealand, so it will be fascinating to see how it plays out.”
“I think we might see some teams, not necessarily sand-bagging, but I’m not sure initially that they’re going to bring their full race package to the party so to speak, in a number of different areas and that’s to be expected, I think, at this stage of the competition, we talked about the fact that all the teams will be developing hard trying to find that optimum performance so they’ll be trying different things, they’ll be trying different strategies, potentially crew line-ups, there’ll be a lot of variability I think.”
The INEOS Britannia team and Ben Ainslie have got a quiet confidence about them… Is the thought of returning the America’s Cup trophy to the yacht club where it all began in 1851 a fantasy within reach this year? The first Preliminary Regatta in Barcelona on 22nd August, will put words and design into action, and give spectators an important taste of what’s to come. The wait is almost up… stay tuned.
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