From sand dunes to sea swells, Alinghi Red Bull Racing welcomes Dakar Rally champs in Jeddah
by Alinghi Red Bull Racing 26 Feb 07:20 PST
Alinghi Red Bull Racing welcomes Dakar Rally champs in Jeddah © Alinghi Red Bull Racing
Spanish rally car racing legend Carlos Sainz, fresh off his Dakar Rally win, and another recent Dakar winner Cristina Gutiérrez swapped their racing suits for wetsuits last week.
They visited the Alinghi Red Bull Racing training base in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The two faced off in a sail racing showdown with each helming an AC40 crewed by sailing team members of Alinghi Red Bull Racing.
Four-time Dakar Rally winner Carlos Sainz, who won the Dakar in the car class in January, and recently-crowned Dakar champion in light prototypes Cristina Gutiérrez know how to push the limits in adventure sport. Both of them captured titles last month at world's most prestigious offroad event, which takes place over two weeks and 12 stages of rugged racing.
In January 2024 both Sainz and Gutiérrez came out on top as the Dakar Rally set an unforgiving 5,000-kilometre route through Saudi Arabia's most inhospitable terrain. At the conclusion of 12 stages of desert racing, some days measuring as much as 600 kilometres across towering sand dunes, it was Carlos Sainz who was crowned champion of the Ultimate class. Cristina Gutiérrez took the laurels in the Challenger category, becoming only the second female driver to taste victory during the Dakar's 46 years of competition.
Last week, they brought their full-throttle mindset to Alinghi Red Bull Racing during a day of training and high-speed sailing on the Red Sea. After group introductions and a tour of the team's Jeddah training base, Carlos and Cristina jumped in the cockpit of their AC40s for a lesson in hydro foiling and all-out racing on the water.
"You are at the limits in terms of forces and power," said Carlos Sainz. "The coordination between the sailors and the discipline of the crew is amazing. It's a great experience. All my respect to the people competing in America's Cup because with this new generation of foiling boats, it's bringing sail racing to another level. I will be watching. I can guarantee you that!"
Carlos Sainz was on-board with Nicolas Charbonnier, Nicolas Rolaz and Bryan Mettraux and Cristina Gutiérrez was on the other AC40 with Arnaud Psarofaghis, Yves Detrey and Lucien Cujean.
"When you sit down, you just feel that adrenaline in the carbon seat and then you have the wheel which gives you a similar sensation to us in our cars," said Cristina Gutiérrez. "One of the most interesting things was the speed that you can reach in the boat. Even with less winds you can reach such high speeds and such ability to make quick manoeuvres with such stability. For me, that's the most impressive thing."
The conditions on the Red Sea were ideal with flat sea and winds that pushed the boats to nearly 40 knots of speed on occasions.
"These two have racing in their DNA and you could tell from their competitiveness out on the water," said helmsman Nicolas Charbonnier. "We have a lot of similarities in our respective sports when it comes to things like preparation, a huge emphasis on technology and the need for different team departments to support our campaigns."
After the morning on the water, the two drivers and the sailing team members all headed back to the training base to share more stories about racing and the extensive testing that goes into getting their respective race machines ready.
Nicolas Charbonnier, helmsman: "All of us compete in incredibly demanding sports with high-speed competition and a high level of technology that goes into our preparation, so it was great to talk to them about how their campaigns and projects are structured and their keys to success for this latest 2024 Dakar."
Carlos Sainz, 2024 Dakar Rally winner: "I really enjoyed it. There was this incredible feeling of speed out on the water. It was the first time for me in a foiling boat and I really felt the acceleration. It's a different type of sailing, that's for sure - to be over the water and not feel the big waves is just fantastic."
Cristina Gutiérrez, 2024 Dakar Rally winner: "We could see that there is a lot of preparation that goes into this with many different people working for the team on different aspects of the campaign. There was the meteorology team delivering weather, the shore team preparing the boat, logistics and communications. When you enter the team base, you can feel it, you can smell it - this competitive fire from one of the best teams in the world. It was an amazing day for me."