-News
from le Défi Français
(02/15/01) (source
: French Sports Newspaper
l'Equipe)
Chief executive Pascal
Herold said negotiations were progressing well with
French "family of five" America's Cup sponsors
but no deals had yet been signed (for the next campaign,
sponsorship costs are believed to be as high as F 200
million F (€30-million) to fund a serious syndicate.
Bouygues Telecom F9 million (€1.5-million)
kickstart to the campaign has already launched the
Design program and has secured a new IACC (NZL-32)
for the first test. Now, is understood that new
French syndicate asked each family member for around
F10 million by year.
However Pascal Herold said he hoped a "good
part of agreements would be reached soon",
with an announcement likely early in the month.
French Training
& Development programme (02/07/01) (source : sail-online
& ledefi.com)
The training and development
programme for Défi's next generation of potential
Americaners sailors for 2003 is get underway at
the South of France (Last week at Saint-Raphael,
this week and during march at la Grande-Motte).
Over 17 selected sailors with proven talent will
be put through a rigorous programme of match-racing
(circling, strategy...) aboard First 40.7. Four
crews (helmed by Damien Iehl, Philippe Presti, Sebastien
Col and Matthieu Richard) which reunite essentially
"Olympics" (Xavier Rohart, Jean Marie Dauris, Philippe
Mourniac...) and members of the former 6ème
Sens crew (Nicolas Texier, Fabrice Blondel).
Pierre Mas, one of the director, said that the challenge
already not bad advanced in its preparation :
- Yaka Design Team is working and, right now, its
members finalize new masts and sails.
- A training of ten days is foreseen to Lorient
in August with the Team NZ (and NZL-32).
- A true base (with hangar, 600m2 to sail-loft,
offices , sporting room ...) at Lorient is expected
for may.
Pierre Mas admitted that the problem was raising
funds, and the new syndicate had reached just a
part of its goal ("Our budget is already consequent
but not sufficient"). Like Team NZ, to finalize
its budget, le Défi was targeting five major
sponsors (no names at this day), with the aim being
for each to contribute up to € 6 million.
-
NZL-32 leased
to the French Challenge (01/08/01) (source : Ledefi.com)
Le Défi Français
took the first step toward a new America's Cup challenge
today as he leased a training vessel from Team New
Zealand, NZL-32, the original cup-winning black
boat used by the Kiwis during their successful America's
Cup campaign in 1995. The French syndicate did not
disclose financial terms.
Le Défi will use NZL-32 for training and
testing in its bid to win the America's Cup from
New Zealand in 2002-2003. The addition of this second
boat allows the syndicate to get a head start on
training and more importantly, testing and development
for the design of the two new boats.
" With two Class America, the preparation is
going to be radically different " said Pierre
Mas, sports director of the Challenge, who planned
to test more than 40 persons on the two IACC by
the end of year 2001. "This will allow to
select 26 navigators stemming from the crew 2000,
but also from the high Olympic level, multihulls
or maxi. ".
Le Défi Français had the opportunity
to acquire " Bravo Espana " (bought by Onorato)
but the overbid between syndicates seemed disproportionate
to the Team who did not follow up. Also one of the
Hawaiian boats was put on sale by Larry Ellison
who had acquired she at the end of the last Cup.
" Even if the financial cost to acquire this
boat would have been lesser than NZL-32 rent, it
did not represent so good flat one reference shape
" dixit Luc Gellusseau, engineering manager
of the Challenge.
The negotiations with the New Zealanders, wich began
at the end of November further to Watch Out's withdrawal,
took place in a very friendly spirit. A good agreement
which allowed to schedule trainings with TNZ this
summer in Lorient. Ironically Pacé may well be amongst
a squad of the current TNZ sailors that will travel
to France in July this year to sail their old boat
against the French crew for ten days. After this
training session the two crews will sail their respective
boats from Lorient to Cowes on the Isle of Wight,
a distance of about 280 miles. Here they will join
at least eight other IACC boats to compete in the
America’s Cup Jubilee regatta which takes place
in Cowes and the Solent between 19-25 August.
With the loss of Bertrand Pacé as skipper of the
French team to Team New Zealand, various other names
have been added to the afterguard pretenders list,
these include Luc Pillot, Philippe Presti, Sebastien
Col and past America’s Cup tactician Thierry Péponnet.
Cup village space for the teams
(the Viaduct Basin) is full and it is the same story
for the neighbouring area set aside for the challengers.
First, America's
Cup Village Limited said that the challengers
who have signed on with the group are:
-
Prada
Challenge, (Base 1) ;
-
Oracle
Racing, (Base 2) ;
-
Mazcalzone
Latino, (Base 3) ;
-
OneWorld
, (Base 4) ;
-
Swiss
Challenge, (Base 5) ;
-
Team
New Zealand, (Base 6).
Second, Viaduct
Harbour Holdings Limited (who owns 4 bases
located in Viaduct Harbour, locally known
as Log Farm) has commitments from :
-
British
Challenge , (Base 7) ;
-
Victory
Challenge , (Base 8) ;
-
Illbruck
Pinta , (Base 9) ;
-
Stars
& Stripes, (Base 10).
Seattle Challenge, headed up by Belden seems
to be the only other challenge that has yet to
commit to a base in Auckland.
Doug Snell, general manager of America's Cup Village
Ltd, said the French (Le
Défi Français) had been offered
the last available base, but had turned it down
because it was too small for their two-boat cup
campaign.
The last spot was snapped up by new Italian syndicate
Mascalzone Latino, which are likely to have just
one boat. A Union Jack is set to fly over base
eight, even though two British groups appear to
be bickering over who will represent their nation
in the next cup.
Le Défi Français
have been left to look out of town for
a home for their America's Cup boats after missing
out on a berth in the cup village. Le Defi's old
base next to Team New Zealand has been incorporated
with the old Nippon site to make an extra-large
compound for Ernesto Bertarelli's Swiss syndicate.
Young Australia used a floating crane as their
base last summer, but residents in the new waterfront
apartments would probably likely object if they
had a barge parked outside their windows.
With Viaduct Harbour full, any other late challenge
will have to look outside the harbour for a base.
The Naval Dockyard is one possibility, as is the
Western Viaduct area - however substantial work
would be required at the cost of the Challenger.
The other option is Gulf Harbour to the North
of the Cup course on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula.
The construction of new Cup bases is well underway,
however much of the old signage remains - even
though the tenants have changed. Construction
of the apartments around the harbour is complete
and certainly the area has a much more pleasant
feel to it than existed during the Cup, when much
of the apartment construction was only half complete.
Meanwhile, the America's Cup syndicate Oracle
Racing is negotiating to buy the derelict barge
in the Basin which was set up by ACVL as a yacht
club and lost $4.1 million of public money. ACVL,
which has withdrawn an application to run the
barge as a restaurant and function centre, will
divvy up the sale proceeds with Corporate Host.
The company had the catering contract and contributed
about $800,000 of the $3 million spent turning
the barge into a club for American Express cardholders.
Sources said Oracle would pay little more than
the salvage value of about $500,000 for the barge
and turn it into a sail loft. ACVL chairman Peter
Kiely has said the future of the barge would probably
be known this month.
Actually, Five Cup yachts, some of them sporting
new attire, will be on parade on the Hauraki Gulf
on Tuesday – among them Team New Zealand's black
boats, out of the shed for the first time since
winning the cup in March. Try not to confuse them
with the black boats of OneWorld, the wealthy Seattle
syndicate which have been sailing on the cup course
for the past week. Their charcoal training boats
used to be midnight blue (Dennis Conner's Stars
and Stripes) and garish yellow (America True). Then
there is the pristine white of Oracle Racing, down
to one model after the other's unfortunate accident
three weeks ago.
Le
Défi boost management (11/08/00) (source : Sportal.fr)
Two months after Bertrand Pace left to join
Team New Zealand, le Défi français
is determined to return to Auckland for the next
America's Cup and a new group has emerged to take
up the mantle
Recurring dock talk suggests that Paul Stewart
(former Managing Director of the F1 team Jaguar
) and Alan Jenkins Chief Engineer of Aerodynamics
of the Prost F1 Grand Prix Team) will now join
the French Challenger, with responsibility for
the day-to-day management of the team.
Bertrand Pacé, 38, won the Swedish Match Grand
Prix Sailing Tour last week when Dean Barker of
New Zealand, his main competitor, was eliminated
during the first round by Chris Dickson, also of
New Zealand. Pacé was not in Bermuda to race the
Gold Cup as he was on holiday in France, resting
and preparing the next step of his career—moving
to New Zealand to prepare with Team New Zealand
for the 2003 America's Cup.
"Training in Auckland will begin in December," says
Pacé. "It's very exciting to know that I will sail
the boats that won the last America's Cup—it's going
to be a great moment." After a short break, training
will resume from January to April. Pacé's schedule
also includes racing on the 2001 match-race circuit,
and perhaps leading an entry in the next Admiral's
Cup.
"The latter is just a project at the moment, there's
nothing organized yet," he says. Yet, now that he
is done wrestling with Barker for first place on
the match-race circuit, Pacé will soon battle the
young skillful helmsman in Auckland. "It's a good
omen," he says. "The motivation will be higher when
we train against each other. We will work in order
to increase each other's level."
However, leaving France for New Zealand is not that
easy. "I really see it as a big human and technical
challenge," he says. "I'm leaving my country, and
the French Défi, but I know I will be working with
the best team in the world for the next Cup. It
will be enriching because as part of the team I
will be totally involved in the boat and project
development."
Pacé is especially excited about the opportunity
to work with Tom Schnackenberg, TNZ's project manager,
one of the best in the business. "It's emotionally
very strong for me to know that I will be working
with such a man," says Pacé. "It gives me even more
motivation."
Pacé may not be the only French sailor within the
New Zealand syndicate. Of the 32 members that will
compose the sailing team, Team New Zealand is still
looking for four or five sailors to add to the squad.
Some of them may be French sailors that sailed with
the BTT Défi last year alongside Pacé. .
Le Défi Français is (almost) back
- Part 2 (10/24/00) (source : Le
Defi.com)
After months of speculation, the
Yaka team (Pascal Herold, Xavier de Lesquen and
Pierre Mas) formally announced today in Paris the
spirit of the new French Challenge for the America's
Cup 2003.
The continuity of the challenge is one of the forces
of the french team. Le D&fi Français
benefits of its experience of the 1999 Louis Vuitton
Cup and is very motivated to do better than last
year. Most of the crews of the 1999 campaign should
continue except Bertrand Pacé who left France for
Auckland and Albert Jacobsoone who joint the Prada
Italian crew. The new team could include Olympic
sailors and in particular Philippe Presti who steered
the french Soling in Sydney. Another name is the
young Sébastien Col one (both have no experience
of the Cup).
In Lorient (Britanny, France), Le Défi will have
one of the best base to train in Europe with the
6e Sens from last year’s first challenge. They are
looking for a second Class America to start training
sessions in Lorient in April 2001. May be a Japanese
boat (Le Défi tried to buy Bravo España,
but she has purchased by the Italian Oronato Challenge
for 800.000 $).
The design team can work from 6e Sens design which
showed she was able to progress all along the round
robins. Peter Van Oossanen and Henrik Soderlund
joint them. For the moment, the design team works
on two new boats. The built of the first one will
begin in November 2001, followed one month later
by the second one. They will be launched in April
and May 2002.
The real problem is the money and the french team
looks for 200 MFF. As they don't have the support
of a famous billionaire, they asked Havas Advertising
Sports to built a strategy inspired from the Team
New Zealand's consortium. Five sponsors could give
the equivalent of 10 MFF per year. The managers
of le Défi have to pay before April 1st 150,000
US$ to the challenger of records to enter in the
official list of America's Cup challengers.
Le
Défi is (almost) back - Part 1 (10/13/00) (source : Le
Defi. Com)
It's almost sure. The Yaka Team
(Pierre Mas, Xavier de Lesquen...) will return in
2003 to lead a more experienced challenge. The official
Internet site today officially announced a press
conference in France on 24 october. Phew !
The world's No 1 matchrace skipper, who helmed
Le Defi French challenge in the last America's Cup,
is going to become a Kiwi for the next one.
It's obvious Le Défi would not have a budget
to put them in the Billionaires' Club but he has
two years a to re-grow. It was up to a new team
to build on the last challenge to be in Auckland
in 2003 but the immediate priority is to determine
who will be the future helmsman skipper and there
aren't many sailors capable to cover this role.
Today, Franck Cammas says that competing in the
America's Cup is a dream that he would now like
to turn into reality. The youngest skipper of the
international multihull circuit has already built
himself a brilliant career when imposing after four
seasons in the Figaro Single-Handed races and by
taking third place in the 1998 Route du Rhum race,
his first single-handed transatlantic race aboard
a multihull.
The others pretendant are Thierry Peponnet (tactician
aboard 6ème Sens, winner of the last One
Ton Cup), Luc Pillot (6th Place at the World Ranking,
he has been on the match racing circuit since 1992
either skippering his own crew or sailing with other
skippers) and Philippe Presti (one of the Soling
skippers who lined up in Sydney but...).
And why not a surprise like Paul Cayard or Marc
Bouet ? But please, we don't want the Marc Pajot
back !
