Ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix, Daniel Ricciardo and Marc Márquez, the eight-time MotoGP champion, tried their hand in a new capacity by joining the crew of Alinghi Red Bull Racing, a yacht team preparing for the upcoming America’s Cup regatta.
This autumn, one of the most prestigious regattas in the world will be held in the Balearic Islands near Barcelona, and now the participating teams are preparing for it. Racers also took part in one of these training sessions, which took place in conditions as close to ‘combat’ as possible, aboard AC40 class catamarans.
The Swiss Alinghi team works closely with Red Bull Advanced Technologies, the technology division of Red Bull Racing, although at first glance there appears to be little similarity between Formula 1 and sailing. But the America’s Cup boats have the highest level of technology, and that’s what they have in common.
Daniel Ricciardo: “The way these yachts are built, their design, is reminiscent of the cockpit of a Formula 1 car. They are very sensitive to wind, so to some extent they are similar in aerodynamics. The operation of these yachts is also similar in many ways to what we do and here too maximum precision is required.
When you try something like this you don’t know what to expect, but I had a blast. It was also great that we were together with Mark; it was wonderful to spend time in such company. I’d like to wish this team all the best in the America’s Cup – we’ll be rooting for them!”
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
