INEOS Britannia started the third day of the Louis Vuitton Preliminary Regatta with a race win against Alinghi Red Bull Racing (SUI). The match race was the most intense of the regatta so far, with both teams executing the start before an extremely close cross between the two AC75 race boats had viewers on the edge of their seats.
The British Challenger of Record, racing for the Royal Yacht Squadron Ltd, had a double race day on Saturday facing the Swiss first and then Italian’s Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli. Ben Ainslie’s crew was unable to secure their second win, after being issued two penalties – one for being a fraction over the start line at the gun and the second for fouling the boundary in the race.
Team Principal and Skipper Ben Ainslie said: “It was a much more positive day today. We’ve had some really good learnings from the last two days of racing. We made a couple of mistakes today, particularly the pre-start entry with Luna Rossa but we had a strong race against Alinghi and I feel like we have a good bit of momentum.”
The pre-start action of INEOS Britannia’s first race against the Swiss saw Ainslie’s crew choosing to lead back to the line from a position to leeward, and that was how they started. It was a strong choice for INEOS Britannia, and they were able to close the gap between the boats, trying to throw backwash from their sails onto the Swiss.
The boundary comes up quickly on these tight courses though, and both boats tacked together. Now it was the Swiss boat’s turn to squeeze the distance between the two. INEOS Britannia held until the last moment, tacking with just enough speed to get around and stay on the foils.
Both boats accelerated towards the respective boundaries on opposite sides of the racecourse, and when they came back together the Swiss were in front – but only just. They couldn’t tack to get a firm control of the race, and Ainslie and co. were able to get to the right-hand side at the top of the course. When they came back together the British were able to tack in front of the Swiss and lead them through the first gate. It was the last of the boat-on-boat drama, the British boat once again showed good speed downwind and extending steadily on those legs to finish 33 seconds ahead.
The British team’s second race of the day had an earlier start, after New York Yacht Club American Magic couldn’t overcome a problem with the rudder just before the start of their race with Orient Express Racing Team, providing the French with a sail over and their first point.
INEOS Britannia faced Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (ITA), and the pre-start demonstrated just how fine the margins are between winning and losing. The British boat was just 2.4m over the start line at the gun. Moving at over thirty knots, that converts to just over one tenth of a second early. It meant that they had to take a penalty and let the Italians gain a 75m lead. In trying to manage that loss — and come out of it in a strategically strong place — they fouled the boundary, again by just a couple of metres. It effectively ended the race. The breeze then dropped 2-3 knots, becoming too patchy for sensible performance comparisons.
Co-Helm Dylan Fletcher said: “The second race against the Italians was definitely tough. We thought we were safe on that start but we were just a fraction over. Other than that we were happy with the start but unfortunately after getting a second penalty for being over the boundary it was very difficult to catch Lune Rossa.”
Ainslie said he was “feeling good going into the final day of racing”.
“We’ve taken a lot from these three days of racing and learned a lot about the performance of the boat as well as the maneuvering of it, which puts us in good stead for when the main event starts next week and beyond,” he said.
The final day of the Louis Vuitton Preliminary Regatta takes place tomorrow from 13:00 BST (14:00 CET). INEOS Britannia will race France’s Orient Express Racing Team and UK viewers can watch it live on TNT Sports. The Louis Vuitton Cup (Challenger Selections Series) then begins on 29 August. The series will determine which of the five Challenging teams will take on Defenders Emirates Team New Zealand in the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Match.
