- Land Rover BAR will attempt to make America’s Cup history in Bermuda
- Challenger aiming to become first British winner of the oldest trophy in international sport
- Start of the 35th America’s Cup marks a significant engineering milestone on Land Rover BAR’s journey
- Land Rover’s design, technology and engineering expertise crucial in the development of the R1 race boat
- Fans can experience the thrill of America’s Cup racing as a crew member in Land Rover’s new immersive 360 VR film
Pretoria, 26 May 2017 – The wait for the 35th America’s Cup is nearly over, as Land Rover BAR, led by five-time Olympian Sir Ben Ainslie, prepares to battle in Bermuda for sailing’s ultimate prize.
America’s Cup sailing is faster, more competitive and more technically advanced than ever before – it’s called ‘F1 on water’ for good reason. Reaching speeds of 96km/h, these boats fly above the surface, pushing the boundaries of aerodynamics, control systems, data analysis and performance in the pursuit of optimum speed and efficiency.
The start of competition is the most important moment yet for the two-year-old collaboration between the team and Land Rover, its exclusive Innovation Partner. The unique partnership was forged with one aim – to design a boat capable of winning the oldest trophy in international sport.
Land Rover’s technological innovation and engineering expertise has ranged from aerodynamic testing and CFD modelling of the boat’s main power source, the wing, to data analysis through machine learning and the cutting-edge Human Machine Interface technologies used in the development of Ben Ainslie’s steering wheel and e-ink displays.
Land Rover BAR will set sail in the first America’s Cup qualifier on Friday, 26 May.
“As pioneers in the car industry we couldn’t think of a better opportunity than to support the British America’s Cup team in their quest to win the hardest, and indeed oldest sporting trophy,” said Mark Cameron, Land Rover’s Experiential Marketing Director. “Land Rover has been involved in sailing for a number of years, therefore being a part of the pinnacle event and having the opportunity to put our knowledge and expertise into the R1 race boat is a great showcase of a true industry collaboration between marine and automotive.
“It has been a pleasure and privilege to help Ben and his Land Rover BAR team make it this far, and we can’t wait to see them competing in the Cup itself. Land Rover will be offering its full support from around the globe and we wish the team the best of luck”.
“The last couple of years have been hard work, and it’s been great to have the design, technology and engineering support of Land Rover in the development of the R1 race boat,” said Ben Ainslie, Skipper and Land Rover BAR Principal. “We have been waiting for this moment, and the whole team are very excited and ready to give it our best shot.”
The 35th America’s Cup event starts on 26 May with the Qualifiers, where one team will be eliminated from the competition and the remaining teams will go into the Play-Offs starting on 4 June.
2017 America’s Cup Challengers:
- Land Rover BAR
- Artemis Racing
- Emirates Team New Zealand
- SoftBank Team Japan
- Groupama Team France
- ORACLE TEAM USA (Cup holder)
