SoftBank Team Japan are poised to tick another box in their preparations for the 35th America’s Cup.

The team plan to launch their first AC45 test boat they acquired from Oracle Team USA in the Great Sound this week.

“We have an optimistic goal of trying to go sailing on January 21,” Dean Barker, the Team Japan skipper, said. “There is a lot of work that needs to happen between now and then to hit that date, but that is the goal.”

Team Japan’s test boat has been stripped down and reconfigured and, once launched, the team’s designers and boat builders will work on testing foil shapes and control systems to be used in design elements for the 50-foot wing-sail, foiling catamaran Team Japan will race in next year’s Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers.

“We took delivery of the boat before Christmas and we’ve stripped the boat right back, and the guys are doing a full overhaul on all of the equipment to make sure it will get us through the year,” said Barker, who won the 30th America’s Cup with Emirates Team New Zealand in Auckland.

As well as testing their AC45, Team Japan will look to improve their ranking in the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series where they are fifth, 18 points ahead of bottom team Groupama Team France.

Barker and his colleagues have found the going tough in the series, which is probably to be expected given the team’s late entry to the America’s Cup, and being limited to sailing only in the fleet racing series against teams much farther down the track in terms of their test platforms.

“Last year was a bit difficult as the only sailing we could do was at the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series events and even then our time on the water was quite restricted,” Barker said.

“But we had a great session after the Bermuda event and it felt like we made some good progress. We know that we’re capable of getting on the podium, so that’s our goal.”

The World Series circuit will resume in Oman on February 27 and 28.

The event is the first stage of competition for the America’s Cup to be held in Bermuda in 2017.

Featuring all of the America’s Cup teams, the series is an opportunity to earn points that will count towards the America’s Cup qualifiers and play-offs, which will determine who competes against defender Oracle Team USA.

Emirates Team New Zealand are the World Series leaders.