Desafío Español unveiled this afternoon the new colors for the hull of the team's future boat ESP 97.

According to Agustín Zulueta, technical and sports director of Desafío Español, the change in colors and branding was made for two reasons.

Firstly, the team's principal sponsor and owner of the marketing rights of the hull, Iberdrola, wanted to rejuvenate the image and branding of the boat, making it closer to its own corporate colors, predominantly green, while adding another logo right below where the helmsman usually stands.

Secondly, the new image requires less paint and fixes some minor glitches. There are just 4 colors in the new design while ESP 65, ESP 67 and ESP 88 required a total of 13 different colors.

That alone drastically reduces the time needed to paint the hull from 12 days to just 2, eliminating in addition approximately 15 kilos of paint from the hull that designers can put in the bulb. It also makes repairs faster to carry out, especially in case of a collision.

According to Zulueta, a detail that might sound minor plays an important role. There are no vertical lines but instead all 4 colors are separated horizontally by curves. A vertical line of separation between two colors on the hull is more exposed to seawater and particular attention and care is needed every evening after the yacht returns from the races. By eliminating these vertical lines the shore crew reduces its workload. .