The Engineering Race Behind the 38th America’s Cup

For British entry GB1—representing Royal Yacht Squadron Racing Ltd as the official Challenger of Record—technical development centers on holistic platform integration. Operating an AC75 at 54 knots (100 km/h) with only the rudder and leeward hydrofoil touching the water requires managing extreme dynamic interactions.

“Every decision affects something else—foil design influences flight stability, flight control affects sail performance, structural stiffness changes control response, and aerodynamic loads feed back into everything. Modern America’s Cup design is fundamentally systems engineering.”

— Nick Holroyd, Head of Design and Technical Director, GB1

To manage these dependencies, GB1 structures its campaign around two interlocking development cycles:

1. Model-Driven Performance Discovery: Utilizing computational optimization to uncover speed gains.

2. Data-Driven Model Refinement: Using telemetry and real-world testing to increase the fidelity of digital models.

Strict limits on financial budgets, development resources, and physical testing (such as wind tunnels and towing tanks) make high-fidelity digital simulation the primary vehicle for performance gains.

• Digital Twins & AI: Teams construct digital-twin physics models, combining computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for air/water forces and finite element analysis (FEA) for structural loads. Machine learning and AI surrogate models accelerate design iterations.

• Aerospace-Grade Hydrofoils: Foils endure massive bending and torsional stresses. Precision manufacturing and non-destructive testing are critical, as micron-level profile variations alter lift, drag, and flow stability under load.

• Telemetry & Sailor Collaboration: Building on the 37th campaign—where boats like INEOS Britannia utilized ~700 sensors producing roughly 30,000 data streams—engineers and sailors work side-by-side. Sailors leverage shared analytics tools to reconcile real-world tactical feel with data model predictions.