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Auckland (dpa / lno) - The sailing classic America's Cup gets in the mood for its 36th edition on Thursday with the Prada Christmas race.
After the pandemic-related cancellation of all scheduled regattas of the world series, the three challengers and the New Zealand defending champions meet for the first time outside Auckland in New Zealand.
Participants in the trial of strength from December 17th to 20th are the Italian Luna Rossa team with skipper Max Sirena, the British Ineos team UK with skipper Sir Ben Ainslie, the American team American Magic with skipper Terry Hutchinson and the Emirates Team New Zealand with helmsman Peter Burling.
The results don't matter to the America's Cup.
But the teams hope to gain important information about the capabilities of their futuristic 23-meter-long monohull racing yachts with foils.
"For the first time we have the chance to see where we are and in which areas we need to improve," said Sirena.
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The Austrian broadcaster Servus TV will broadcast the races live from Thursday morning (3 a.m.).
The America's Cup Challenger Round begins on January 15th with the Prada Cup.
The 36th America's Cup duel, in which the victorious challenger meets New Zealand, starts on March 6th.
36th America's Cup