John Kostecki - a madforsailing interview

Illbruck's skipper talks about his combined Volvo/America's Cup project

While the Illbruck team focuses on the Volvo Ocean Race, it should be remembered that in the background the cogs are still actively turning inside the other half of their operation - Illbruck's America's Cup challenger - and the other Volvo competitors are secretly hoping that Illbruck's dual role will make them take their eye off the Volvo ball. Kostecki refutes this. "It (the America's Cup) definitely takes a secondary role at this time. We do have a full design team up and running in Germany. But it is more or less separate from our day to day operation. " However, he adds, a lot of their Volvo racing team have Cup experience and have added their input to the design. Many will also end up on the IACC boat.

True to form Illbruck have already at this stage committed not just to the next Cup, but the one after too, realising that even with Kostecki on board they are likely to need more than one go to stand a chance of winning. Currently the IACC boat is in its design stage, being pondered, tweaked, tested and re-tested by a team headed by Michel Richelsen, who was Director of Design Systems at North Sails and has had involved with Cup campaigns since 1983, including America One. Also on Richelson's team are Friedrich Judel and Torsten Conradi from the Judel/Vrolijk design house and Patrik Erlandson from North Sweden. Research and development is being carried out in Germany by the registration society Germanischer Lloyds, Hamburg Ship Model Basin and the German national centre for air and aerospace research. Construction will start in September, but whether this will take place at the Illbruck facility has yet to be decided.

The new Illbruck Volvo Ocean 60 was shipped out to Charleston and launched there on May 20. She will be heading to Europe to take part in the Fastnet Race in early August.