Team New Zealand backs new AC40 Grand Prix circuit

The AC40 foiling yacht, created by Emirates Team New Zealand, is now available for private owners to compete in a new AC40 Grand Prix Circuit.

The AC40 is a 40-foot one-design rendition of the AC75 yachts that took to the water during the 36th America’s Cup.

The AC40 Management Group — comprised of Emirates Team New Zealand, McConaghy Boats and Ancasta International Boat Sales — says it is focused on establishing a class of privately owned AC40s to add to the existing yachts built for the America’s Cup, and is setting up a Mediterranean training base for the new AC40 Grand Prix circuit.

The group aims to have a fleet of privately owned and skippered AC40s that will participate in both circuits and championship racing, providing an extraordinary experience for the ‘few who have the means and ambition’ to participate. Training sessions will be provided at the base throughout the pre-season, including boat handling, performance training, safety skills and practice in an AC40 simulator to obtain an AC40 Class Licence. A commitment to record and share performance data between teams is seen as a key element of the one design journey.

As such, the group’s now looking for those few private owners and syndicates able to buy in and is offering organising video conferences to discuss the plans, from events to shared services, on 31 August 2023 and 5 September 2023 (more info via email).

With nine AC40s already launched and three more currently in production, the AC40’s exclusive builder McConaghy Boats says it has a strong mandate from private owners and syndicates for the new grand prix circuit.

When developing the AC40, Emirates Team New Zealand took everything it had developed for its winning yacht Te Rehutai and packaged it into a smaller platform to be sailed by four crew: two drivers and two trimmers. It says it requires brains, not brawn, to operate with all sail and foil controls driven by hydraulic systems powered by onboard batteries.

Each yacht is capable of well over three times the wind speed and top speeds in excess of 50 knots. Because they come with a supplied electronics package and automated control system, they are also accessible to sailors who may not have an Olympic medal to their name.

Leading up to the 37th America’s Cup, the new class of AC40s will see huge exposure in 2023, being raced by AC teams in preliminary regattas in Vilanova and Jeddah.

In 2024, the Youth and Women’s America’s Cup in Barcelona will also be raced in AC40s, with 12 international teams committed to both events. In July, MIN reported that McConaghy had been appointed the exclusive build partner for the next generation of Infiniti 52 racing yachts.