Alinghi Red Bull Racing has launched its AC75 training vessel as the team prepares for the 37th America's Cup in 2024.
The AC75, known as BoatZero, was launched in Barcelona and is the first America's Cup boat to hit the water since the conclusion of the 36th America's Cup in 2021. The team purchased BoatZero from Emirates Team New Zealand last spring and it will serve as a training platform for the incoming Alinghi Red Bull Racing team.
As a new entry to the America’s Cup, Alinghi Red Bull Racing will be able to get out on the water sailing in this training boat, while teams that took part in the last Cup cycle will have to wait until next year before they are able to get out on the water in their AC75s. The crew will be mentored by two highly experienced sailors, Dean Barker, a skipper and former America's Cup winner, and Pietro Sibello, a finalist in the 36th America's Cup with Luna Rossa.
"Each department pulled together creating a close-knit team in order to get the boat on the water today," said Silvio Arrivabene, co-general manager and head of technical operations. "At the end of this great day for everyone, we are full of energy and ready to focus on the next step: sailing."
Nils Frei, head coach of Alinghi Red Bull Racing, said: "Today symbolises the adventure that begins in Barcelona. This first-generation boat will allow us to gain valuable training hours before we have our race boat. We are a new team sailing a boat that we are only just discovering, but to be able to train already this year is highly beneficial. If there is one thing that all Cup campaigns have in common, it is that you can never make up for lost time. And you never have enough of it! The preparations for this launch have given us the opportunity to learn to work together, and it is so important to be united towards a common goal in an America's Cup campaign."
During the christening, Alceo Bertarelli, son of syndicate founder Ernesto Bertarelli, smashed the customary bottle of champagne on the boat's wing.
Red Bull has partnered up with the Alinghi syndicate, which races under the flag of Switzerland’s Société Nautique de Genève. Despite representing a land-locked country, the Alinghi team has won the America's Cup twice – in 2003 in New Zealand and in 2007 in Spain.