Malmö Acts 6 & 7 : The team

What was behind the selection of the team that will race in Sweden?
We want to make sure that we retain the continuity of the team that came together so well in Valencia. We want to optimise that experience, and build on it – starting with the Swedish Match Tour we entered last week.  We also want to make sure we bed down some of the key positions, like the grinders.  Three or four team members have changed since we were in Valencia.

How are you planning on integrating and consolidating the performance of the Chinese sailors?
In Sweden, we are planning on have them race one after the other.  All three won’t be on the boat at the same time, they will be rotated.  The trick is training them up, but also giving them some exposure to ‘live’ America’s Cup racing at the same time.

What is the weather stacking up like?
The weather in Sweden is highly changeable – we noticed that last week during the Swedish Match Tour.  We sailed to Copenhagen in Denmark (just opposite Malmö) under a low pressure system, starting out with steady westerly winds and wintery rain, then waking up the next day to full sunshine and a light summer breeze.  The Scandinavians seemed to making the most of the sunshine and came out to watch the racing.  They seemed very knowledgeable about the subtleties of the sport, and were certainly enthusiastic!  For Acts 6 & 7, we’ll be expecting huge crowds – particularly during the weekend racing in Malmö.

What goals do you have for Acts 6 & 7?
We’ll be looking to improve the performance of the boat against what we were able to achieve in Valencia – which was good considering where we were at in terms of materials and boat configuration.  We will be expecting better performance results this time around, based on the technical modifications we have made to the keel and the sails since.

Sailing Team

Jean Marie Dauris (FRA), bow

Florent CHASTEL (FRA), bow

Fei Zhao (CHN), bow

Armand Coursodon (FRA), mast

Xavier Husson (FRA), pit

Thierry Barot (FRA), runners

Olivier Herdelant (FRA), trimmer

Piotr Przyblski (POL), trimmer

Fred Rivet (FRA), trimmer

Thierry Briend (FRA), pit

Frederico GIOVANNELLI (ITA), grinder

Peirui WANG (CHN), grinder

Guangyi LIU (CHN), grinder

Aziz Essadeck (FRA) , grinder

Olivier Maurelli (FRA), grinder-physical trainer

Brice Jaffuel (FRA), grinder – physical trainer

Pierre Mas (FRA), skippeur – helmsman

Philippe Mourniac (FRA), tactician

Dimitri Deruelle (FRA), strategist

More information about the team, click here