Who are the challengers?

Ineos Britannia (Challenger of Record) – Great Britain

Sir Ben Ainslie is back and will once again attempt to end Britain’s 173-year wait to win the Auld Mug after losing it in the first America’s Cup regatta. They worked closely with the Mercedes F1 Team to design the best possible boat but still need to find some pace ahead of the Challenger Series.

Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (Italy)

Jimmy Spithill and Francesco Bruni will again share steering duties for the Italians, who lost to Team NZ in the 2021 Cup match in Auckland. They appeared to be the best challengers early on and will hope to continue that way now that the race is on the line.

American Magic (USA)

This year there is a new team with top Australian rider Tom Slingsby (whose mother is American) on starboard and Paul Goodison on port. Like Luna Rossa, American Magic looked fast in the early stages. They have made some interesting design choices – they are the only team to use horizontal cyclo wheels rather than upright wheels – and they hope all these little things make a difference.

Alinghi Red Bull Racing (Switzerland)

Alinghi took the America’s Cup from Team New Zealand in 2003 and after more than a decade away, the Swiss are back to try again – of course, this time they haven’t recruited a group of Team New Zealand’s key sailors to make it happen. Their match racing skills were on full display during the pre-regatta with Arnaud Psarofaghis and Maxime Bachelin at the helm and they are a surprise contender in the Challenger Series. They have worked with the Red Bull F1 team on their development so it will be interesting to see if they can find a little more pace now that racing is on the cards.

Orient Express Racing Team (France)

The other newcomer to the fleet, and a late entrant at that, the French bought a design package from Team NZ for their AC75, so they are expected to have a competitive boat. They were the last team to race, and that lost time could cost them dearly; they didn’t sail particularly well in the pre-regatta. However, they have a strong team, made up largely of the French SailGP team, with Quentin Delapierre and Kevin Peponnet at the helm. They come into the race as heavy underdogs.

How can I see it in New Zealand?

Do you like to stay up (or get up) until the early hours? To watch live racing, you can tune in from midnight on Three, ThreeNow or on the America’s Cup website and YouTube channel.

If a good night’s sleep means a little more to you, you can watch a replay every day at 7am on Three, or stream the races on-demand via ThreeNow and the Cup YouTube channel.

What is different this time?

The AC75 has undergone some evolution since it was raced in Auckland in 2021. It seemed Luna Rossa had hit on something at this regatta when they opted for a dual helm system to limit movement on the boat. Now each team has a helmsman on port and starboard, as well as a flight controller/trimmer, without the athletes having to switch sides for maneuvers. For Team NZ, Nathan Outteridge and Peter Burling are at the helm, while Blair Tuke and Andy Maloney handle trimming and steering.

The new generation also welcomed the return of the Cyclors, which have replaced traditional grinding platforms with bicycles. This comes after the new protocol reduced crew numbers from 11 to 8 and early indications are that the boats are more reliable in winds at the lower end of the range (in racing the wind range is 6.5 to 21 knots) than in Auckland.

Why is Team NZ participating in the Challenger Series?

As defending champions, Team NZ makes the rules. In Auckland 2021 they did not compete in the Challenger series and when it came to the Cup match they were critical of their sailing performance despite a 7-3 win. This time they are taking the opportunity to get a few more races in before the Cup match. They will still have a period of about two weeks where they do not race and the challengers do, but participating in the round robin means 10 extra races for the defending champions.

Are there any Kiwis involved outside of Team NZ?

While there are new nationality rules that state that 100% of the race crew must hold a passport or have been physically present in the country for two of the three years prior to March 18, 2021, there are actually many New Zealanders mixed into other teams in some form. Here’s a breakdown provided by the teams.

Luna Rossa: Luca Kirwan, Hamish Wilcox, Daniel Jowett and Brendan Jones.

Alinghi: Dean Barker, Brad Butterworth, Brett Healey, Rhys Jones, Matthew Kelly, Andy Kensington, Richard Kiff, Elliot Pilcher, Phil Robertson, Robert Salthouse, Daniel Smith, Jason Squire, Jack Taylor, Craig Twentyman, Vito Vattuone

Orient Express: Jason Saunders, Benjamin Tregunno, Tyler Williams, Benjamin Tapper, Alexander Hartbottle, Magnus Doole, Oakley Marsh, Christopher Reid, Connor Richardson, Paul O’Reilly.

Ineos Britannia: Eight New Zealanders work in the British team’s organization, but they did not want to reveal their names.

American Magic: The Americans did not want to disclose information about the roles and nationalities of employees in their organization. “By keeping such information confidential, we want to protect our strategic advantages and ensure fair competition,” they said.

Important dates of the America’s Cup

Louis Vuitton Cup, round-robin tournament: August 30th – September 9th

Louis Vuitton Cup semi-finals: 15-20 September

Youth America’s Cup: 18-27 September

Louis Vuitton Cup Final: September 27th – October 6th

Puig Women’s America’s Cup: October 6th to 14th

Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup game: 13-22 October

Youth and women’s teams in the America’s Cup

America’s Cup teams: New Zealand, Great Britain, Switzerland, Italy, USA, France

Invited teams: Australia, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Spain

Christopher Reive joined the Herald’s sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his reporting that he brings to his sports viewing habits.