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CHALLENGER OF RECORDGB1
GB1 is Britain’s America’s Cup Team and the representative of the Challenger of Record, the Royal Yacht Squadron Ltd., for the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup. The team is the evolution of the British challenge founded by Sir Ben Ainslie in 2014 following his America’s Cup victory with the USA in 2013. Since then, the team has competed in Bermuda (2017), Auckland (2021), and Barcelona (2024), steadily building momentum and establishing itself as a leading contender. In Barcelona, GB1 delivered Britain’s strongest modern performance: becoming the first British team in 60 years to race in the America’s Cup Match, the first in 90 years to score points in the Match, and the first ever to win the Louis Vuitton Cup (Challenger Selection Series).
CHALLENGER OF RECORDGB1
GB1 is Britain’s America’s Cup Team and the representative of the Challenger of Record, the Royal Yacht Squadron Ltd., for the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup. The team is the evolution of the British challenge founded by Sir Ben Ainslie in 2014 following his America’s Cup victory with the USA in 2013. Since then, the team has competed in Bermuda (2017), Auckland (2021), and Barcelona (2024), steadily building momentum and establishing itself as a leading contender. In Barcelona, GB1 delivered Britain’s strongest modern performance: becoming the first British team in 60 years to race in the America’s Cup Match, the first in 90 years to score points in the Match, and the first ever to win the Louis Vuitton Cup (Challenger Selection Series).
CHALLENGER OF RECORD
GREAT BRITAIN
ROYAL YACHT SQUADRON LTD.
NO. OF CAMPAIGNS: 4
GB1 is Britain’s America’s Cup Team and the representative of the Challenger of Record, the Royal Yacht Squadron Ltd., for the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup. The team is the evolution of the British challenge founded by Sir Ben Ainslie in 2014 following his America’s Cup victory with the USA in 2013. Since then, the team has competed in Bermuda (2017), Auckland (2021), and Barcelona (2024), steadily building momentum and establishing itself as a leading contender. In Barcelona, GB1 delivered Britain’s strongest modern performance: becoming the first British team in 60 years to race in the America’s Cup Match, the first in 90 years to score points in the Match, and the first ever to win the Louis Vuitton Cup (Challenger Selection Series).
For the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup, GB1 enters a new chapter, backed by investment firm Oakley Capital, which has taken a majority ownership stake in the team. Sir Ben Ainslie continues as Team Principal, supported by CEO Ian Walker, Head of Design Nick Holroyd, and helm Dylan Fletcher MBE. Representing the Royal Yacht Squadron Ltd., one of the world’s most historic yacht clubs and a founding force behind the original 1851 race that became the America’s Cup, GB1 combines heritage with high-performance ambition. Alongside its main campaign, the team remains committed to developing future talent through its Athena Pathway programme, supporting Youth and Women’s America’s Cup teams. With renewed backing and a strengthened structure, GB1 is aiming to build on its breakthrough success and pursue Britain’s ultimate goal: bringing the America’s Cup back to where it all began.
America’s Cup Participations
2027 AC38 Naples . Challenger of Record
2024 AC37 Barcelona . AC Match Finalist and Louis Vuitton Cup Winner
2021 AC36 Auckland . Prada Cup Finalist
2017 AC35 Bermuda . Louis Vuitton Cup Semi-Finalist
Sailing Team
Ben Ainslie Team Principal
Dylan Fletcher Helm
CREW
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Dylan FletcherSkipper and Starboard HelmDylan Fletcher MBE is the helm of GB1 and one of Britain’s most accomplished high-performance sailors. An Olympic gold medallist in the 49er class at the Tokyo 2020 Games, he has spent over a decade competing at the very top of the sport, with multiple World Championship medals to his name.
Fletcher was part of the British challenge for the America’s Cup in Barcelona, co-helming with Sir Ben Ainslie and reaching the Final at his first attempt.
Known for his calm leadership and exceptional boat-handling skills, he also helms the British racing boat in the global SailGP championship, where the world’s best sailors race in identical 50ft foiling catamarans. He joined the British SailGP team at the start of the 2025 Season and led the crew to its first-ever championship win.
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Ben CornishPort HelmBen Cornish is a three-time America’s Cup campaigner, competing as part of the GB1 British challenge. Originally from Budleigh Salterton in Devon, Cornish began sailing on the Exe Estuary before progressing through the national youth pathway and into the British Olympic sailing programme.
Cornish first established himself in Olympic classes, representing Great Britain internationally in the Laser before transitioning to the heavyweight Finn dinghy, where he claimed victory at the Finn World Cup.
He later moved into professional foiling sailing, joining the British America’s Cup programme and competing in multiple Cup cycles. Within the team, he has served in roles including cyclor and trimmer, bringing both athleticism and technical skills to the team’s programme.
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Bleddyn MonPort TrimmerBleddyn Mon is a highly respected British professional sailor and engineer, competing at the pinnacle of international racing.
Hailing from Anglesey, Wales, he joined the British America’s Cup Team in 2015, and has been a key member ever since, contributing both as a sailor on the water and as part of the technical and performance team. He has served as a trimmer and performance specialist on AC75 foiling monohulls, combining his deep sailing experience with his mechanical aerospace engineering background.
Beyond the Cup, Bleddyn has also competed in the Volvo Ocean Race with Turn the Tide on Plastic. Known for his analytical approach and technical insight, Mon brings a rare blend of engineering expertise and elite sailing skill to every campaign he undertakes.
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Andrea TeseiStarboard TrimmerTesei grew up in Trieste, on Italy’s east coast, his father a sailor and his mother a ski racer. He was a top ranked youth alpine skier until the age of 16, combining that with sailing in the junior Optimist class that has produced so many Olympic Champions. It was only after he completed his degree – in Economics and Innovation Management – that he chose to commit to sailing as a career, after discovering the Olympic 49er.
Many of Tesei’s peers in the world of foiling have also come from the 49er Olympic class, including his new teammate and GB1 helm, Dylan Fletcher. Tesei was Italian National Champion in 2015, winning bronze at the European Championship two years later, and holding a top 10 World Sailing ranking across that period. He then spent a brief period racing non-foiling high-performance yachts in the TP52 Super Series scoring two event wins. Foiling then drew him back and he joined the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli America’s Cup team through their Next Generation program in 2018.