Ratcliffe bows out of America’s Cup

It was three months after INEOS Britannia lost in the 37th America’s Cup when trouble was revealed amid the British challenge. The nation’s most successful effort to win the trophy had imploded, with team skipper Ben Ainslie and team sponsor Sir Jim Ratcliffe splitting apart.

While both Athena Racing (Ainslie) and INEOS Britannia (Ratcliffe) stated their intention to launch separate challenges for the 38th America’s Cup, Ratcliffe has blinked first with this statement on April 9, 2025:

INEOS Britannia announces that it has withdrawn its intention to challenge for the next America’s Cup. The decision has been taken after a protracted negotiation with Athena Racing Ltd following the conclusion of 37th America’s Cup in Barcelona.

The agreement that had been reached with Athena would have allowed both parties to compete in the next Cup, but it depended on a rapid resolution. INEOS Britannia had agreed the substantive terms very quickly, but Athena failed to bring the agreement to a timely conclusion.

INEOS Britannia is of the opinion that this six-month delay has undermined its ability to prepare for the next Cup and so has reluctantly withdrawn its challenge.

Commenting on the decision, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Chairman of INEOS, said, “This was a very difficult decision to have taken following our challenge at the last two America’s Cups. We were the most successful British challenger in modern times with an exceptionally quick boat and we felt with the very effective input from the Mercedes F1 engineers that we had a real chance to win at the next Cup. Unfortunately, the opportunity has slipped away.”

Details: https://www.americascup.com/

No entries have yet been submitted as Defender New Zealand works with the Challenger of Record from Great Britain to organize the 38th America’s Cup. Anticipated to be held in 2027, the two teams have agreed on some details with the venue to be confirmed by June 2025 after Barcelona declined hosting another edition.