Azimut Joins Ferrari Hypersail with a Dedicated Test-Support Yacht

Azimut’s Ferrari Hypersail partnership combines a specialised Fly 72 tow boat with support for the ocean-racing project’s operations in Livorno.

Azimut Yachts has become Technical Partner and Official Yachting Partner of Ferrari Hypersail. Announced in Genoa on 1 October, the collaboration links the motor yacht builder with Ferrari’s ocean-racing development programme through facilities ashore and a purpose-built support role at sea.

A different brief for the Fly 72

The Azimut Fly 72 x Ferrari Hypersail is being adapted to support the prototype’s initial foil testing. Early tests are planned without the racing vessel’s mast and sails, using towing to bring the prototype to the speed needed for the trials.

Azimut describes a configuration with 4,000 metric horsepower and a weight reduction of six tonnes, supported by carbon-fibre use. A dedicated towing post is part of the adaptation. These specifications concern the special project vessel and should not be read as the standard Fly 72’s specification.

The infrastructure behind performance

The collaboration also includes Hypersail’s operational base at Azimut’s Livorno premises. Together, the base and support yacht show how an ambitious racing programme depends on the surrounding engineering and logistics as well as the prototype itself.

For AUVEMARE, the story is the application of yachtbuilding expertise to a specific testing problem. Its outcome will be established through the development programme, rather than through the partnership announcement alone.

Source: BOAT International