America's Cup- Swiss partner for French Challenger

by Sail-World on 21 Jul 2011
The French challenger Energy Team representing the Yacht Club de France has made three significant announcements in its campaign for the 34th America’s Cup.

With three weeks to go to the start of the first event of the AC World Series (6th August in Cascaïs) , Energy Team is launching its one design AC45, naming their crew, and above all revealing the name today of its first official partner: Corum.

The Swiss watchmaker Corum, a regular partner in the world of international sailing, has decided to support the French challenger Energy Team led by Loïck and Bruno Peyron. This commitment is part of the global strategy adopted by Corum, which is able to build on its historic reputation in the world of sailing.

The brand is investing in key events in the sector to promote its international image. Antonio Calce, CEO of Corum: 'This major project is a further step in our strategy that I announced and launched several years back. Taking part in the America’s Cup is the dream of every sailor and for that reason matches the aspirations of a brand like Corum, which since 1960 has been a key player in the sector. The close relationship based on trust that has developed between Corum and the Peyron brothers has enabled this dream to come true.'

The Energy Team's AC45 was delivered on schedule in Lisbon, quickly assembled and launched today. The team line-up is ready and the crew in the starting blocks. Loïck Peyron, the selector -skipper, has today made official the line-up for the Energy Team AC45 for the World Series in Cascaïs.

The team includes a squad of nine including four substitutes. They were all recruited based on their multihull sailing experience, their physical condition, their weight and experience of Match racing.

Loïck Peyron: 'With our crew in place, the main goal now is to discover this new boat, the AC45 and to get to grips with all the little details, avoiding all unnecessary risks, even if that means performance suffers somewhat. We are really looking forward to this World Series, feeling relaxed and yet well aware of our place facing the big teams that have already been through a lot of training. We’re not really aiming for anything particular in the rankings in this first event.'

Crew line-up for the Energy Team AC45
- Loïck Peyron (skipper-helmsman)
- Peter Greenhalgh (wingsail trimmer)
- Nicolas Texier (trimmer)
- Arnaud Jarlegan (headsail trimmer)
- Christophe André (Bowman)
- Devan Le Bihan (Bowman)
- Jean-Baptiste Le Vaillant (headsail trimmer)
- Jean Sébastien Ponce (trimmer)
- Yann Guichard (skipper-helmsman, substitute in Cascaïs)

Comment from the Peyron brothers:

Bruno Peyron: 'It is with immense pleasure that our team welcomes Corum on board as the official partner of Energy Team. It takes courage to be the first, as there are on the one hand doubters and then on the other those, who are determined to make their own destiny. Antonio Calce is one of the latter and the atmosphere of mutual trust that we are building together is probably down to what we already have in common: a great desire to see things through. The support of Corum is vital and this commitment will act as a catalyst to attract other major partners and allow us to get going in building our first AC 72.'

Loïck Peyron: 'A loyal ambassador for Corum, I am of course pleased to see my watch-making 'family' join us in launching our first campaign for the America's Cup. I know that this is just the first page in our joint venture, which is based on our shared values of friendship, respect and the quest for perfection.'

Cascais Line-up
On Saturday 6th August the first leg of the America's Cup World Series will officially begin in Cascaïs (Portugal). This competition will see AC45s, 45-foot one-design catamarans, competing against each other as a taster for what is to come with the AC72s, which will be used for the America’s Cup in 2013 in San Francisco. 10 boats representing 9 teams and 8 countries will be taking part:

- Oracle Racing / James Spithill (USA),
- Oracle Racing / Russell Coutts (USA),
- Artemis Racing / Terry Hutchinson (Sweden),
- Emirates Team New Zealand / Dean Barker (New Zealand),
- Energy Team / Loïck Peyron (France)
- Aleph Sailing Team / Bertrand Pacé (France)
- China Team / Mitch Booth (China),
- Green Com Racing / Vassilij Zbogar (Spain),
- Team Korea / Chris Draper (South Korea),
- Venezia Challenge / Torvar Mirsky (Italy).

About Corum, Official Timekeeper
Positioned in the market as an exclusive brand, CORUM offers collections of top quality watches, with unique innovative designs, and with precision mechanisms. Currently with 150 models, divided up into two key ranges - Admiral’s Cup and Corum Bridges – and two external ranges - Romvlvs and Artisans – their reputation is based on the brand’s history. The various collections on offer range from models varying from 4000 Swiss francs to more than one million Swiss francs according to the value of the materials used and the complexity of the mechanism.