New Artemis Racing helmsmen Loïck Peyron and Nathan Outteridge, and tactician Iain Percy, have been chosen to lead the Challenger of Record forward to the Louis Vuitton Cup in a shake-up that sees skipper Terry Hutchinson stepping aside. Santi Lange retains his role as design team liaison.
Peyron and Outteridge joined the team in October and August, respectively, after Hutchinson had led Artemis to victory in the 2011-12 America’s Cup World Series Match Racing Championship.
“With Loïck and Nathan we have two very high-potential helmsmen,” Cayard said in an interview at the team base overlooking San Francisco Bay on Friday.
“In Loïck we have 35 years of big multihull experience and in Nathan we have a young guy who has demonstrated a lot of talent in fast skiffs and dinghies and who has a very bright future.”
Cayard says the setbacks the team suffered earlier this year when a damaged wing significantly delayed their first sailing days on the AC72 has forced the team to consider all avenues in accelerating its program.
“It’s the end of November and we really need to push hard every single day,” he said. “At this stage, when we’re still trying to understand the limits of the boat, Loïck is the best guy in the world to help us with that. Nathan will sail the boat a bit now and we’ll see where he gets to long term.”
Iain Percy, a double gold medalist for Great Britain, has come to the team off the back of a silver medal performance at the Olympic Games this summer and is already having an impact on team dynamics according to Cayard.
“He’s a winner and he’s quickly become the center of gravity of the crew. He’s a natural leader; he’s very charismatic. He’s easy going, but has the intensity needed to win.
“And we have Santi Lange who will represent the technical side and he knows what our priorities are for testing.
“So we have plenty of personalities and strengths for an afterguard on an 11-man boat. We think this is a really strong group.”
Cayard says seeing Hutchinson leave Artemis Racing isn’t easy, but he feels it’s the right move for the team.
“Terry has done great on the AC45s and in particular in winning the match racing, but we think this new set-up will take us to the future faster and possibly with a higher-end potential in Nathan.
“So we made the difficult choice. It was a very hard decision on a personal level. Terry gave nothing less than 110% to Artemis Racing but we had to do what is best for the team and we felt this was the best choice.”
Artemis Racing hasn’t sailed its AC72 since November 19, something Cayard attributes primarily to poor weather conditions for testing. He says the team could sail as early as tomorrow (Saturday) if the current forecast holds.
From : America's Cup
Credit : S.Van Der Borch/Artemis Racing
Peyron and Outteridge joined the team in October and August, respectively, after Hutchinson had led Artemis to victory in the 2011-12 America’s Cup World Series Match Racing Championship.
“With Loïck and Nathan we have two very high-potential helmsmen,” Cayard said in an interview at the team base overlooking San Francisco Bay on Friday.
“In Loïck we have 35 years of big multihull experience and in Nathan we have a young guy who has demonstrated a lot of talent in fast skiffs and dinghies and who has a very bright future.”
Cayard says the setbacks the team suffered earlier this year when a damaged wing significantly delayed their first sailing days on the AC72 has forced the team to consider all avenues in accelerating its program.
“It’s the end of November and we really need to push hard every single day,” he said. “At this stage, when we’re still trying to understand the limits of the boat, Loïck is the best guy in the world to help us with that. Nathan will sail the boat a bit now and we’ll see where he gets to long term.”
Iain Percy, a double gold medalist for Great Britain, has come to the team off the back of a silver medal performance at the Olympic Games this summer and is already having an impact on team dynamics according to Cayard.
“He’s a winner and he’s quickly become the center of gravity of the crew. He’s a natural leader; he’s very charismatic. He’s easy going, but has the intensity needed to win.
“And we have Santi Lange who will represent the technical side and he knows what our priorities are for testing.
“So we have plenty of personalities and strengths for an afterguard on an 11-man boat. We think this is a really strong group.”
Cayard says seeing Hutchinson leave Artemis Racing isn’t easy, but he feels it’s the right move for the team.
“Terry has done great on the AC45s and in particular in winning the match racing, but we think this new set-up will take us to the future faster and possibly with a higher-end potential in Nathan.
“So we made the difficult choice. It was a very hard decision on a personal level. Terry gave nothing less than 110% to Artemis Racing but we had to do what is best for the team and we felt this was the best choice.”
Artemis Racing hasn’t sailed its AC72 since November 19, something Cayard attributes primarily to poor weather conditions for testing. He says the team could sail as early as tomorrow (Saturday) if the current forecast holds.
From : America's Cup
