Motorsport champions Ricciardo and Márquez trade the track for sea for a high-speed sailing race in Barcelona with America’s Cup team 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 last year this week, the two racers took it a step further, not only getting the chance to foil the Swiss challenger’s two AC40 yachts but also race them on the America’s Cup venue. Swapping wheels for sails, Ricciardo and Márquez went head-to-head along Barcelona’s seafront for a friendly contest, feeling the adrenaline as they reached almost 90 km/h speeds.
Both boats were quick off the start line, but ultimately, the Australian driver got the upper hand, beating the Catalonian MotoGP champion on home ground. Márquez compared his experience 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 closely with Red Bull Advanced Technologies, the high-performance vehicle engineering division of Red Bull Racing. Despite the apparent difference between the two sports, 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, got the two athletes up to speed before 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 said. “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…
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