Alinghi Red Bull Racing and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing are both preparing for intense competition across different fields of play in Catalonia this month. The teams joined together at the Alinghi Red Bull Racing base in Barcelona on Wednesday to celebrate special-edition racing graphics on the AC40 while the bikes livery will be revealed on Sunday at the MotoGP.
For Alinghi Red Bull Racing, which has been training and testing in the waters off Barcelona for over a year, the first races begin September 14 at the America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta in nearby Vilanova i la Geltrú and will mark a clear shift in the campaign’s focus from training to full race-mode.
For Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, the upcoming 11th race of the MotoGP season takes place this weekend at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. With both teams preparing for these crucial showdowns, there was excitement all around as sail racers and MotoGP stars alike gathered at the new team base in Port Vell. The day’s highlights included Red Bull KTM Factory Racing riders following a sailing session out on the water and the debut of the one-off racing liveries created by Spanish artist Javier Mariscal and inspired by a local landmark: the famous Warriors of La Pedrera, the proud statues that stand atop Antoni Gaudi’s iconic Casa Mila.
“I’ve never been sailing or really understood it at all,” said Red Bull KTM rider Brad Binder. “So awesome to get a bit of an idea of what goes on behind the scenes. It’s incredible how rough it is out there when you’re chasing the boat… we were getting knocked all over the place. And then when you look up, it just looks like they’re gliding!”
“It’s always nice to meet new people and be able to share with them all the passion,” said Alinghi Red Bull Racing skipper Arnaud Psarofaghis. “They are always pushing the limits with their racing skills, their mentality and preparation. For us, it’s one year to go until the Cup. We’re now in our new base and we are at a turning point of the campaign.”
Designed by Mariscal – who imagined the well-known Cobi mascot design for the 1992 Barcelona Games – the new warrior silhouettes appear on the foils of the AC40 yachts of Alinghi Red Bull Racing and both teams were also surprised with a sneak preview of the warrior livery to be featured on the KTM RC16 race bikes this Sunday.
“The warriors on the roof can be seen as guards, as watchmen over the city and the port and the mountain Tibidabo,” said Mariscal. “They are like shields that protect against the elements… water, wind, sun. They’re talisman as well for Alinghi Red Bull Racing who are preparing to go into battle mode.”
“We are turning now to the racing mode that we started this week with the AC40 and fighting against each other in a racing simulation now instead of testing,” said Psarofaghis about the team’s shift in mindset. “And the team is in a really great spot, it’s where we want to be at this stage, but we still need to push going forward.”
