The Italian +39, (formerly the Clan Des Team), through the Circolo Vela Gargnano (CVG) is the first challenger to join the Oracle BMW Racing team in challenging Alinghi for the 32nd America’s Cup. The Defending yacht club, the Société Nautique de Genève, accepted the challenge from the CVG on the 25th March, 2004.

Lorenzo Rizzardi is President of the challenging yacht club and Head of Syndicate for +39.

Whilst +39 is a new player on the America’s Cup stage, it has plenty of experience in international yachting. The leaders of this team on the water are rivals from the Finn class in the 2000 Olympic Games. +39 skipper Luca Devoti earned a silver medal behind gold medalist Iain Percy of Great Britain in Sydney, but the two have joined forces here, giving +39 an enviable duo to lead the team. With Andrew Simpson, and Tommaso Chieffi calling tactics, the team is strong at the back of the boat.

Giovanni Ceccarelli, will be the designer for the team. He designed Mascalzone Latino for one of the two Italian challengers in 2002/2003. Ceccarelli will have a team composed of both Italian and International design experts and he will count utilise the experience of Prof. Giovanni Lombardi, a teacher of aerospace engineering at the University of Pisa.

+ 39 have acquired a 1999 boat which was used as a training platform by Alinghi for their successful America’s Cup campaign in 2003. +39 didn’t sail in the first Louis Vuitton Act in Marseille as much of their crew was involved in the Olympics. The team was seventh in Louis Vuitton Act 2 in Valencia and eighth in Act 3 and the Season Champion table.

Website: www.piu39challenge.it