America’s Cup: A tie at the top

Auckland, New Zealand (December 18, 2020) – Four match races have been held on the second day of the PRADA America’s Cup World Series (ACWS) Auckland on race course C, the preferred playing field as it brings the racing right into the heart of the Waitematā Harbour, with shifty and puffy Northwest breezes between 10 to 14 knots.

The new ranking list sees New York Yacht Club American Magic and Emirates Team New Zealand on a tie with three wins each. The Challenger of Record Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (2 points) and INEOS TEAM UK (0 points) follow in third and fourth position respectively.

Race 5 – Italy beat USA by 0:12.
The race remained tight but Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli sailed a confident and clean race to take the win over New York Yacht Club American Magic. This is Italy’s first win in a race where both boats have finished. – Full report

Race 6 – New Zealand beat Great Britain by 1:32
There were early signs of some boat on boat action in the pre-start as INEOS TEAM UK (GBR) attempted to pin a penalty on Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) seconds before the start. The third and final lap delivered no more in the way of dramas and saw the Kiwis extend their lead to the finish. – Full report

Race 7 – USA beat Italy by 0:30
The return match between American Magic (USA) and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (ITA) was the third race of the day. With confidence high, American Magic cruised to victory. – Full report

Race 8 – New Zealand beat Great Britain by 1:42
The final race of the day saw the second helping of the day’s sparring between INEOS Team UK (GBR) and Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL). By the last leg the die had been cast and the Kiwis took the win, another win for the home team, but two completed races for Sir Ben Ainslie after some difficult days. – Full report

The ACWS resumes tomorrow at 3:00 PM NZT weather permitting, with exact start time published every racing day on americascup.com. Price giving will be held on the main stage on the Te Wero Island one hour after racing. The ACWS is December 17-19, with the final result to determine the initial pairings for the two stage Christmas Race on December 20.

America’s Cup details – December 17-20 details – Results – YouTube – Time converter

U.S. viewers can watch all racing live on NBC Sports Gold. NBC Sports Network and www.nbcsports.com will carry most of the racing either live or with a time delay, and all races will be available on replay (see schedule). International viewers can watch racing live and on replay via the America’s Cup website and the America’s Cup YouTube channel (see details).

36th America’s Cup
In addition to Challenges from Italy, USA, and Great Britain that were accepted during the initial entry period (January 1 to June 30, 2018), eight additional Notices of Challenge were received by the late entry deadline on November 30, 2018. Of those eight submittals, entries from Malta, USA, and the Netherlands were also accepted. Here’s the list:

Defender:
• Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL)

Challengers:
• Luna Rossa (ITA) – Challenger of Record
• American Magic (USA)
• INEOS Team UK (GBR)
• Malta Altus Challenge (MLT) – WITHDRAWN
• Stars + Stripes Team USA (USA) – WITHDRAWN
• DutchSail (NED) – WITHDRAWN

Key America’s Cup dates:
✔ September 28, 2017: 36th America’s Cup Protocol released
✔ November 30, 2017: AC75 Class concepts released to key stakeholders
✔ January 1, 2018: Entries for Challengers open
✔ March 31, 2018: AC75 Class Rule published
✔ June 30, 2018: Entries for Challengers close
✔ August 31, 2018: Location of the America’s Cup Match and The PRADA Cup confirmed
✔ August 31, 2018: Specific race course area confirmed
✔ November 30, 2018: Late entries deadline
✔ March 31, 2019: Boat 1 can be launched (DELAYED)
✔ 2nd half of 2019: 2 x America’s Cup World Series events (CANCELLED)
✔ October 1, 2019: US$1million late entry fee deadline (NOT KNOWN)
✔ February 1, 2020: Boat 2 can be launched (DELAYED)
✔ April 23-26, 2020: First (1/3) America’s Cup World Series event in Cagliari, Sardinia (CANCELLED)
✔ June 4-7, 2020: Second (2/3) America’s Cup World Series event in Portsmouth, England (CANCELLED)
• December 17-20, 2020: Third (3/3) America’s Cup World Series event in Auckland, New Zealand
• January 15-February 22, 2021: The PRADA Cup Challenger Selection Series
• March 6-15, 2021: The America’s Cup Match

Youth America’s Cup Competition (CANCELLED)
• February 18-23, 2021
• March 1-5, 2021
• March 8-12, 2021

AC75 launch dates:
September 6, 2019 – Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Boat 1
September 10, 2019 – American Magic (USA), Boat 1; actual launch date earlier but not released
October 2, 2019 – Luna Rossa (ITA), Boat 1
October 4, 2019 – INEOS Team UK (GBR), Boat 1
October 16, 2020 – American Magic (USA), Boat 2
October 17, 2020 – INEOS Team UK (GBR), Boat 2
October 20, 2020 – Luna Rossa (ITA), Boat 2
November 19, 2020 – Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Boat 2

Details: www.americascup.com