Motorsport champions Ricciardo and Márquez commerce the observe for sea for a high-speed crusing race in Barcelona with America’s Cup crew Alinghi Red Bull Racing.
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Ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend, Alinghi Red Bull Racing was joined by two motorsports icons, 8-time Grand Prix winner Daniel Ricciardo and 8-time MotoGP champion Marc Márquez.
Following Max Verstappen’s visit to the Base final yr this week, the 2 racers took it a step additional, not solely getting the possibility to foil the Swiss challenger’s two AC40 yachts but additionally race them on the America’s Cup venue. Swapping wheels for sails, Ricciardo and Márquez went head-to-head alongside Barcelona’s seafront for a pleasant contest, feeling the adrenaline as they reached nearly 90 km/h speeds.
Both boats had been fast off the beginning line, however finally, the Australian driver acquired the higher hand, beating the Catalonian MotoGP champion on residence floor. Márquez in contrast his expertise in motorsports: “The speed is completely different. Maybe in kilometres per hour, it’s slower, but the feeling of the speed was super high. You don’t feel like you are flying when you’re in it. But then I saw Daniel’s boat flying by our side and realised I was too. We were foiling super smoothly.”
Alinghi Red Bull Racing has been working intently with Red Bull Advanced Technologies, the high-performance car engineering division of Red Bull Racing. Despite the obvious distinction between the 2 sports activities, Formula One and the America’s Cup share roots in high-performance engineering.
“The way these boats are built, and the structure feels a lot like the cockpit of a Formula One car,” Ricciardo commented. “They’re super sensitive with the wind, so aerodynamics also has some crossover. It’s a lot like what we do, with small movements, and everything needs a lot of finesse.”
The Swiss skipper, Arnaud Psarofaghis, acquired the 2 athletes up to the mark earlier than the AC40s went out. “Daniel took my seat on the boat and followed all my directions as I sent them through from the chase boat,” Psarofaghis stated. “Both Marc and Daniel were dropped in the deep end today and adapted quickly. Overall, it was a super inspiring day out on the water with these guys.”
Although it was a lower-stakes race for Ricciardo forward of the upcoming Spanish Grand Prix this Sunday, the pleasant competitors along with his Red Bull colleague could be the right preparation as he gears up for the racetrack.
Daniel Ricciardo, F1 driver:
You by no means know what to anticipate once you expertise one thing like this, however I had loads of enjoyable. Also, doing it with Marc was nice for us to spend time collectively and do one thing like this with Alinghi Red Bull Racing. I want the crew the very best for the America’s Cup. It’s going to be superior. I’ve seen the whole lot, and we all know you’ll do nice, so we’ll be cheering you on.
When you come out of the water foiling, the boats go so quick, the agility and the whole lot are exact. You additionally really feel the wind as we do – and Marc does on his bike – however we don’t get the water that a lot until it’s a moist race. So, now and then, you hit a wave and get coated with water.
Marc Márquez, MotoGP rider:
The most spectacular factor is the coordination wanted contained in the boat. My greatest query was how they discovered and understood what they wanted to do. It wasn’t simple to really feel what was happening contained in the boat as a result of the whole lot was tremendous easy as quickly as you had been flying.
It could be finest in case you had been tremendous exact. In motorsport, in case you make a mistake, you fall. But right here, in a race, I think about that in case you make a small mistake, you drop the velocity in a short time, and then it takes loads of time to succeed in that velocity once more.
Arnaud Psarofaghis, Alinghi Red Bull Racing skipper:
I’m a giant fan of Formula 1 and MotoGP, so it was an honour to point out these guys round our Base. Daniel and Marc had been excited by studying about our America’s Cup marketing campaign, so earlier than we acquired on the water, I even gave them a behind-the-scenes tour onboard our AC75, BoatOne.
We’ve been right here as a crew for 2 years, attending to know the circumstances of Barcelona and the best way to sail these boats, so seeing each of them rapidly be taught the ropes was a giant inspiration forward of the racing this summer season.
