Ben Ainslie’s America’s Cup team, INEOS Britannia, completed a remarkable run of match-race in the Louis Vuitton Challenger Selection Series to top the leaderboard.
INEOS Britannia’s start-to-finish win in the sail-off against Italy’s Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli took them to the top of the Challenger leaderboard and gives them the choice of whom they face in their Semi-Final this coming Saturday 14 September.
The top four teams now go into the Semi-Final/Final stage of the Louis Vuitton Cup, which determines which team takes on Cup Defender Emirates Team New Zealand in the 37th America’s Cup Match.
Britain has not reached the actual America’s Cup match race since Anthony Boyden’s Sovereign in 1964.
Since 1970 there have been 15 of 17 America’s Cup events with multiple challengers, and Britain has never managed to win a challenger series to compete against the defender!
Earlier in the day the British team won its final scheduled race against France’s Orient Express Racing Team, which tied them on points with the Italian team, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, and triggered the Sail-Off race.
Following the British win Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli was due to race against Alinghi Red Bull Racing (SUI) but were forced to pull out of that race with a jammed starboard foil arm.
That gifted the race to the Swiss who thus qualified as the fourth team and left the Italians tied with the British, activating the sail-off.
Ainslie and the INEOS Britannia team dominated the race against the Italians sailing flawlessly around three laps and six legs.
At the end of the first lap the advantage was 29 seconds, at the end of the second it was 42 seconds.
The Italians had a good final upwind, pulling back 12 seconds, but a safe final leg saw INEOS Britannia home with a solid 42-second win, victory in the Round Robin and the right to choose their Semi-Final opponent.
INEOS Britannia Co-Helm Dylan Fletcher said: “To get another race against Luna Rossa and another win is very good for the team. We feel like we are building some solid momentum so we will aim to continue that for the Semi-Final.”
The pairings will be announced at the Media Conference on Friday, the day before the start of the Semi-Finals.
The teams the Brits have to choose from are: Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (ITA), New York Yacht Club American Magic (USA) and Alinghi Red Bull Racing (SUI).
The first team to win five races, and score five points, in each pairing will progress to the Final (26 Sept-7 October), with the winning team of that match going on to face Defender Emirates Team New Zealand in the 37th America’s Cup Match (12-27 October).
INEOS Britannia, the British Challenger of Record is racing for the Royal Yacht Squadron Ltd in the 37th America’s Cup.
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