INEOS Britanna has broken the deadlock in the Louis Vuitton Cup Final by securing two back-to-back race wins against the Italians.
The Brits are now on match point with a lead of 6-4 against Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli in the first-to-seven series which determines who will face Emirates Team New Zealand in the 37th America’s Cup Match.
In the toughest of conditions with a sea state of up to 1.2m, Ben Ainslie’s British crew pushed its AC75 race boat to the absolute limit, nailing the starts and managing to maintain a lead in both races while battling against the elements.
INEOS Britannia Team Principal and Skipper Ben Ainslie said: “It was a great effort from the entire team. It’s very hard to sail these boats on these waves and it’s difficult to explain to people just how tough it is. You’re constantly on a knife edge trying to keep these AC75s foiling whilst cutting through the wave chop, it’s a real challenge for both teams. It’s great to get the two wins, the guys managed the really difficult conditions well but there’s still plenty of gains to make.”
The first race saw a very different pre-start than what we’ve seen before; Ben Ainslie and his crew entered a little late and got straight on the tail of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli. When the Italian boat turned back towards the start line the British crew kept it tight and got the ‘hook’ to leeward. Luna Rossa had to keep clear of INEOS Britannia, but there was an extremely close moment in the pre-start box with the Brits protesting but the umpires clearing the Italians.
At the first cross, Ainslie and co. chose to duck behind and take the right, both boats went back out to the boundary and came back for the second cross. It was Italy’s turn to duck this time, they then set-up to go around the left-hand mark at the gate. INEOS Britannia had made gains though, and were able to slam a tack in front of Luna Rossa to take the mark, forcing the Italians the other way.
The sea state was making it very tough sailing, with both boats on the edge of control. The teams minimised the tacks, sailing to the boundary of the course each time for the next lap. It was just after the round up onto leg five that Luna Rossa hit a bad wave and ventilated the rudder, it cost them a 100m before they got it controlled and back up to speed.
It wasn’t over though, with the sea state keeping both boats on a knife edge. As everyone watched with baited breath, INEOS Britannia managed to get to round the final mark cleanly and sail across the finish line with a 23-second margin.
As in previous days, the British team went into the second race of the day with a one-point lead and it was as crucial as ever to maintain the advantage. Both boats were early approaching the start line. They had to kill time running along the line towards the left-hand end, and when they turned up to start, INEOS Britannia was tight to leeward and quickly making it uncomfortable for Luna Rossa.
The Italians were soon forced away, and the British crew tacked with them. It got more even as they raced across the track on port tack, and the Italians took the opportunity of their gains to go back to the British. At the cross INEOS Britannia still held the advantage though, and were able to tack back in front, forcing Luna Rossa away. Ben Ainslie and his crew let them go, and played the final wind shift to the mark. They made a gain when they came back together at gate one, and were able to round the right-hand mark leading by three seconds.
Once again, the afterburners went on for leg two and the lead extended to 11 seconds. It was a solid advantage, and the British worked really hard to keep it that way in the marginal conditions. A rudder ventilation on leg four had everyone’s heart in their mouth, as the team struggled to get it under control in time to gybe and round the gate mark. The Italians saw their chance and changed tactics to try and engage the British crew in a tacking duel on the next leg.
The Brits managed to stay calm and collected to recover and keep the lead and win the race with Luna Rossa eight seconds behind, the deadlock finally broken to a 6-4 scoreline and match point.
INEOS Britannia Cyclor Neil Hunter said: “It was amazing to get the two wins and break the deadlock, especially in those conditions. We had significant sea state which makes a massive difference for us Cyclors as the powers demands are much more. Every function on the boat is being used twice as much so it was flat out today for us Cyclors. It was pretty relentless but we did a good job of delivering the power when it was needed.”
The Louis Vuitton Cup Final resumes on Friday, with two more races scheduled. INEOS Britannia needs to win one more race to go through to the 37th America’s Cup Match against Defenders Emirates Team New Zealand which starts on 12 October. UK viewers can watch all the action live on TNT Sports from 13:00 BST (14:00 CEST).
