The announcement of the Protocol for the 36th America's Cup defines some of the rules of the next edition of the world's oldest sporting contest. Land Rover BAR are ready to get down to the serious business of planning and preparing their AC36 challenge for 2021 in 75 foot monohulls.
The major change was the return to monohulls, and although the final rule for the new boat will not be published till 31st March next year there were strong hints that the boat will foil like the multihulls used in the last Cup. "We are comfortable with the transition, the key people in our sailing, design, engineering and support teams all have a great deal of relevant experience." said Team Principal, Ben Ainslie. "With the rule not coming out until March, we hope that it will be a collaborative approach to its development with all stakeholders included."
A nationality rule was also introduced for the sailing teams. "Land Rover BAR has always had a British identity and this rule won't affect us." continued Ainslie. "It's good to see that the World Series will continue in 2019, and we look forward to returning to America's Cup racing in the new class. The Cup has gained a lot of new fans and it was encouraging to hear both the Defender and Challenger of Record's commitment to delivering the same high standard of global, televisual racing to cement the interest in our sport.
"The America's Cup is the hardest trophy to win in world sport, and it's likely that we will be traveling half-way around the world to compete on the home waters of the world's most successful modern America's Cup team. Team New Zealand have been in all six of the openly contested Cups since 1995, and they have won three of them. We don't underestimate the challenge – it is immense – but we will call on the very best of British technology and innovation through our partners, and use that British fighting spirit to finally bring the Cup home to Britain.
"We will learn from our mistakes, and come back stronger. I want to thank the team's board of Investors led by Chairman Sir Charles Dunstone and title and main partners Land Rover, 11th Hour Racing, Aberdeen Standard Investments, CMC, BT and Coutts for their continued support which allows us to go forward with such confidence."
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