America’s Cup, il defender lancia gli “evaluation trials”
America's CupOracle Team USAVela 15 Luglio 2010 Zerogradinord 1
America’s Cup – Valencia – E venne il giorno degli esperimenti. Mentre il mondo dell’America’s Cup cerca di capire quale barca darsi per il futuro – un monoscafo di 72 piedi o un multiscafo di 70? – a Valencia, il Golden Gate Yacht Club ha indetto quattro giorni di trials per capire come rendere più avvincente la trasmissione delle regate in televisione e per toccare con mano la portata di alcune modifiche regolamentari già ampiamente pubblicizzate, come la riduzione del numero dei membri di equipaggio (da diciassette a dodici-tredici).
Tra il 22 e il 25 luglio, infatti, la città spagnola accoglierà una reunion di personaggi altamente specializzati nel mondo del broadcasting, dei media di ultima generazione e delle compagnie di telecomunicazione. Figure di alto profilo provenienti da tutta Europa e dagli Stati Uniti che dovrebbero dare suggerimenti su come fare della vela uno show meritevole della ribalta televisiva.
“Stiamo testando concetti molto differenti – spiega a tal proposito Russell Coutts, CEO di BMW Oracle Racing – Fare il primo bordo di poppa anzichè di bolina potrebbe essere meglio? L’uno contro uno sarà possibile con i multiscafi? Ci sono percorsi alternativi che potrebbero avere un miglior appeal televisivo?”
I trials saranno condotti con due Extreme 40 e due RC44. A portare i catamarani saranno chiamati il campione austriaco Roman Hagara, vincitore di due ori olimpici in Tornado, e l’ex di Alinghi Murray Jones, mentre sugli RC44 si alterneranno più velisti, tra questi lo skipper di USA, James Spithill.
Telecamere 3D e HD saranno montante a bordo delle imbarcazioni che saranno impegnate in regate con partenze di bolina e alle portanti.
AMERICA’S CUP, ORGANIZER PLANS LAB EXPERIMENT OFF VALENCIA
[Golden Gate Yacht Club Press Release] With a view towards helping determine if a monohull or multihull is better suited for America’s Cup racing, event planners have scheduled four days of trials here to develop methods for making the racing more enthralling for fans, more challenging for crews and better portrayed on television screens around the world.
Concept papers for a new monohull and multihull design were issued on July 2 to independent rule writers in the United Kingdom and U.S.
The trials, July 22-25, will help confirm certain parameters of the new yacht, including reduced crew numbers to place a premium on boathandling.
Not only will the format of racing and type of boat come under scrutiny, but also television production. The America’s Cup Media Evaluation Team has solicited opinions from a wide array of broadcasters, digital media and technology companies in Europe and the U.S. on how to make the racing more dramatic on-line, on-screen and on TV.
Accepted standards of Cup racing are being challenged in the trials and no thought will be ignored in the quest to create the most compelling television production and delivering it to the widest-ever audience.
“We are testing many different concepts,” said Russell Coutts, CEO of BMW Oracle Racing. “Would making the first leg downwind instead of upwind be better? Can you have exciting boat-on-boat action with multihulls? Are there alternative race course formats which might provide more overtaking opportunities?”.
The trials will be conducted with two pairs of X40 catamarans and RC44 sloops. 3D and HD cameras will be experimented with to see if the onboard action is more dramatically portrayed, and the race format testing will include downwind and reaching starts.
Guest helmsmen such as Roman Hagara of Austria and Murray Jones of New Zealand will lead the crews aboard the X40s. Hagara is a two-time Olympic gold medalist in the Tornado class and Jones raced multihulls extensively in the lead-up to the 33rd America’s Cup Match.
Multihulls have been paired in the America’s Cup only once before, during the 33rd Match last February. And while there were some exciting moments, such as stalls on the start line and port-starboard crossings at the windward mark, the jury remains hung on whether or not multihulls can mix it up in close proximity to each other or whether they offer the boat behind more opportunities to pass.
A pair of RC44s will provide the high-performance monohull baseline for the trials. James Spithill, the youngest ever America’s Cup winning skipper will be at the helm of one of the two yachts. They will race short-handed, eight-person crews to see if that adds a level of drama to boathandling that would be compelling for television.
“Only by reviewing the accepted wisdom can we decide if there are smarter ways to challenge crews and excite fans,” Coutts said.
