Challenger reactions to Naples being named host city for the 38th America's Cup have been muted, but behind the scenes the politics are heating up—with rumours swirling, national rules in question, and commercial deals in play as teams weigh their next moves.
There has been some reaction from the challenger community to last week's announcement by Team New Zealand of Naples, Italy as the host venue for the 38th America’s Cup, however most of it is likely to have gone on behind the scenes.
Publicly, only the British Challenger of Record Athena Racing and the French Orient Express Racing Team have posted acknowledgements of the venue announcement...
Luna Rossa were among the hot favourites for AC37 but crashed out in the challenger final. Now, with lessons learned and a restructured team, Italy’s Red Moon is rising fast for AC38. While rivals are mired in protocol spats the Italians are already back on the water and surging ahead.
The America's Cup Defender Emirates Team New Zealand has responded to yesterday's barrage of critical statements from the Swiss, British, and American challengers with a curt public rebuttal.
Both the British Challenger of Record Athena Racing and American Magic have issued their own statements following the one issued earlier today by Alinghi Red Bull Racing.
Despite withdrawing last month as a potential challenger for the 38th America's Cup, Switzerland's Alinghi Red Bull Racing has today released a statement supporting the stance taken by the British and American teams in calling for more transparency from the Defender – Emirates Team New Zealand.
I have had a close affiliation with The Ocean Race since the 2011-12 edition. Back then I worked at the race headquarters in Alicante, Spain in the communications team helping create the content that was published on the official website and sent out to the mainstream media in daily press releases.
Another day another deal in the SailGP stratosphere.
Designed and engineered specifically to meet the needs of amateur racing sailors, Musto’s all-new inshore and offshore BR3 gear has broad appeal.
There’s something undeniably special about the start of a transatlantic yacht race — the quiet anticipation, the sharpened focus, and that edge-of-the-seat feeling that no one quite knows what lies ahead.
