Loick and Bruno Peyron join forces in bid to bring Americas Cup 2013 to France

The Peyron brothers from France, both wizards in multihull sailing,

have staged their own ‘rapprochement’ by teaming up

to raise a campaign for the next America's Cup in 2013.

photo © Vincent Curutchet/DPPI

From TheTelegraph

Loick and Bruno are the leading multihull sailors in the world but for 30 years have raced against each other as fierce opponents.
Now they are joining forces for discussions with various French parties to launch a bid to bring the America’s Cup, which will be raced on multihulls in 2013, to France for the first time in its history.

They are also talking with German yacht racing luminary Jochen Schumann and his partner Stephane Kandler about forming a Franco-German collaboration on the same lines as the All4One team, which has been campaigning the Louis Vuitton Trophy over the past year.

A French campaign was widely anticipated due to their superior expertise in multihulls, garnered from many years of high speed offshore racing in catamarans and trimarans.
Bruno is three times holder of the Jules Verne Trophy while his younger brother was the helmsman on Alinghi when they were defeated by BMW Oracle in the 33rd America's Cup in February.

CNN Mainsail episode featuring an intimate portrait of legendary multihull sailing brothers Loïck and Bruno Peyron
with Olympic veteran sailor Shirley Robertson

Their achievements in multihull racing are many, varied and highly distinguished which will go some considerable way in balancing the playing field with BMW Oracle, a field that Team Origin's Sir Keith Mills recently found too skewed in the Americans favour to commit his £100 million budget.

“We’ve always been told and quite rightly that the America’s Cup is reserved for specialists...which is good news for us," said Loick Peyron.
"From Formula 18 to the Route du Rhum and not forgetting the Jules Verne Trophy, the French are specialists in multihulls, so let’s go for it ... together.”

The brothers have now given themselves three months to raise a team and the funds for a competitive campaign.

"Will France allow other nations to catch up in three years what we have acquired over 30?," asked Bruno Peyron.
"We have three months ahead of us to answer that question and three years to show what we can do. Looking beyond individual concerns, and any protectionism, I am convinced that we need to unite to be in with a chance of winning. This first symbolic step must build the foundations to allow skills, wherever they come from to be brought together."

Links :

• America's cup : The French Peyron brothers the latest to express interest