Land Rover BAR has launched its third America’s Cup testing boat, called T3. It’s hard to know what developments have been made since the second test boat since all the innovation is hidden inside T3.
"T3 takes us a significant step closer to the systems that we will use on the final race boat,” explained Richard Hopkirk, head of systems and analysis. “This boat will allow us to test and develop across all the key areas that will impact our ultimate performance. It's a critical progression in the search for fast, stable and continuous flight."
Watch the launch of T3 in the video below:
T3 will sail from the team base in Portsmouth, UK, with a full development and testing programme planned for the summer.
America’s Cup rules state that you can only build one full-size America’s Cup Class boat. Teams are permitted to build multiple test boats in order to develop the technology in the lead up to the event in Bermuda 2017.
Sir Ben Ainslie, team principal and skipper, said: “T3 is another fantastic piece of technology from our designers, engineers, shore team and key suppliers. It's terrific to see the step changes we have made each time we launch a new boat. This is a new team, but it's growing up fast. Really fast."
Land Rover BAR are practicing ahead of the America’s Cup World Series in New York, which is fast approaching. The ACWS New York will take place in Battery Park City in front of the city’s iconic skyline on May 7 and 8.