British lead toward 37th America’s Cup

Barcelona, Spain (September 9, 2024) – It was a day of tie-breaks and heartbreaks as the Round Robin stage of the Louis Vuitton Cup drew to a close. For INEOS Britannia, the Challenger of Record, it was unbridled joy as they secured the top spot in the standings while Orient Express Racing Team became the first team eliminated from the challenger selection series.

The next stage? Great Britain, Italy, USA, and Switzerland will compete in the Semi Finals (Best of 9) on September 14-19.

With so many permutations at the start of the day, all eyes were on the winds in Barcelona as a building southerly thermal filtered up the Mediterranean and produced just enough to get racing underway. From the very start, INEOS Britannia looked sharp with Sir Ben Ainslie’s team dispatching the French, and thus closing down immediately one of the day’s permutations.

Following France’s defeat, the remaining semi-final spot was secured for Alinghi Red Bull Racing who took on the then overall leaders, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, with the odds seemingly stacked in the Italians’ favor, based on previous performances.

However, just ahead of the start, Luna Rossa sailed outside the far-left boundary with a technical issue, unable to lower their starboard board, and were disqualified by the Race Committee. Alinghi Red Bull Racing started cleanly and were immediately awarded the win, but the knock-on effect was a tie in the standings at the top, requiring a race-off between the Italians and the British.

Ahead of the race-off, Emirates Team New Zealand executed a dominant performance against NYYC American Magic who brought in Lucas Calabrese on the port helm due an injury to starting helm Paul Goodison. After a fall off the foils in the pre-start, and a further fall off again on the penultimate leg of the course by the Americans, the Defenders sailed off to an easy win.

This also finished competition for Emirates Team New Zealand who won’t race again until the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Match on October 12.

NYYC American Magic finished the Round Robin stage in third, with work to do before the semi-finals. “I think we always kind of operate the mindset of strengths and weaknesses, so we’ve got to have a good hard look at ourselves and understand where we don’t think we’re strong and how we can just reset the baseline there,” said Terry Hutchinson, Skipper and President of Sailing Operations.

“The boat has pace, all the boats have their moments, so we have to just continue to identify ours. I’m confident that we have the right piece of equipment, confident that we have great people, where I get a little bit rattled is seeing so many positive signs and then steps back backwards or lateral steps, and how to stop that.

“It’s a difficult sport and everybody’s good, so we have to sail within ourselves, race within ourselves, and identify the times we’re doing things well and conversely when we’re not.”

The race-off between INEOS Britannia and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli for the top spot in the standings going into the Louis Vuitton Cup Semi Fnals on September 14, sailed in marginal conditions just above the wind-limit with both boats avoiding each other’s wing-wash in the pre-start dance.

Ainslie brought Britannia into the starboard end of the line bang on the starting gun to control both the windward position and starboard advantage and never looked back. Gaining on almost every leg of the course to record the British team’s second win in as many races against Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, it was a dominant performance and a serious marker of intent for the rest of the tournament.

“It’s another great step forward for the team,” noted Ainslie. “We had a really good day the other day in some breeze, so to up the performance in the lighter stuff is an area where we’ve been struggling a little bit, and the team have been doing a really good job trying to figure that out, the set-up of the boat and how we’re sailing and operating it.

“It feels like we’ve got some really good momentum and I’m delighted for the whole team again – not just us as sailors but the shore team, the designers and engineers, both here and back in the UK – so a big day for the team.”

For INEOS Britannia, by finishing top amongst the Challengers, they now can select both their opponent and the side of entry for their first race. All will be revealed at the upcoming Press Conference on September 13 – the eve of the start of Semi Final racing.

Viewing details – Race information – Results – Weather forecast

2024 Louis Vuitton Cup Challenger Selection Series
August 29-September 8: Double Round Robin
September 14-19: Semi Finals (Best of 9)
September 26-October 7: Finals (Best of 13)

Team New Zealand competes in the round robin stage only, and the results of their races are not included in the challenger leaderboard. Races start at 14:00 CET (08:00 ET) and run until 16:30 or 17:00, depending on the schedule.

Following the publication of the AC37 Protocol and AC75 Class Rule on November 17, 2021, the AC75 Class Rule and AC Technical Regulations were finalized on March 17, 2022. The entry period was from December 1, 2021 until July 31, 2022, but late entries for the 37th America’s Cup could be accepted until May 31, 2023. The Defender was to announce the Match Venue on September 17, 2021 but postponed the reveal, finally confirming Barcelona on March 30, 2022. The 37th America’s Cup begins October 12, 2024.

Teams revealed to challenge defender Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL):
• INEOS Britannia (GBR)
• Alinghi Red Bull Racing (SUI)
• Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team (ITA)
• NYYC American Magic (USA)
• Orient Express Racing Team (FRA)

2023-24 Preliminary Regattas
September 14-17, 2023 (AC40): Vilanova i la Geltrú, Spain
November 30-December 2 (AC40): Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
August 22-25, 2024 (AC75): Barcelona, Spain

2024 Louis Vuitton Cup Challenger Selection Series
August 29-September 8: Double Round Robin
September 14-19: Semi Finals (Best of 9)
September 26-October 7: Finals (Best of 13)

2024 America’s Cup
October 12-21: 37th Match (Best of 13)

For competition details, click here.

Additionally, 12 teams will compete in the 2024 Youth & Women’s America’s Cup.

Noticeboard: https://ac37noticeboard.acofficials.org/
Event details: www.americascup.com/en/home

Source: ACE