It was a tough day at the office for the world’s greatest sailors competing at the Louis Vuitton Cup in Barcelona with light winds eliciting those sporting extremes of both elation and frustration. It was a day where the slightest drop in concentration or fall in wind pressure could spell disaster, but it was the Italian team of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli who showed outstanding skill, winning two points from two races, who top the rankings amongst the Challenger teams tonight.
Plenty of positives could be taken away from the other single-race winners on the day including NYYC American Magic, INEOS Britannia and Emirates Team New Zealand, but for Alinghi Red Bull Racing and Orient Express Racing Team, they both are looking up the leaderboard, knowing they are in a fight for survival.
It was especially tough for the Swiss, who suffered a third straight defeat in the Louis Vuitton Cup, falling off their foils in a haze of wing-wash thrown mercilessly down at the start of their race against INEOS Britannia who themselves survived a late fall off the foils on the final downwind leg, but managed to to recover to take the win. The British went on to succumb to a light-airs defeat against Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, where a foil fall was more costly.
Sir Ben Ainslie was upbeat after racing, saying: “We had a couple of good races there, a couple of really nice starts, we came off the foil in the first race which gave Alinghi Red Bull Racing a sniff of getting back into the race – pretty stressful moments – but we managed to get that point across-the-board. Then another nice start against the Italians, got the first cross but all the pressure came in from the left at the top of that beat and they got the cross, got the lead. It was reasonably close and we just had a gybe in light air, fell off the foil which was pretty painful and that was the end of the race. They did a nice job.”
The Swiss sit frustrated at the bottom of the standings of the Louis Vuitton Cup with the team eyeing time in the simulator to improve. Maxime Bachelin, port helm came ashore positive but realistic, saying: “Very tough today. Again, we didn’t manage to take a start, and we didn’t anticipate how big the bad air was between the boats, so very difficult, but it’s not over. We will keep pushing and we will work more on the mini-patterns in the simulator.”
The race of the day on paper was the opener between Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli and NYYC American Magic with these two very even teams going head-to-head and just one poor tack on the opening upwind leg by the Americans separating the two. Once ahead, Luna Rossa never looked back despite the distance delta not increasing over the remaining five legs and the Americans keeping it remarkably tight.
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli helmsmen Jimmy Spithill and Francesco Bruni sailed brilliantly today, and are proving to be a real force in the Louis Vuitton Cup, but their Flight Control team of Umberto Molineris and Andrea Tesei are gaining wide praise for their control. Spithill was especially complimentary saying: “I thought they were just really high-level today and didn’t make any mistakes. We need them to be that good because we’ve clearly pushed our foils and pushed the rudders and so that technique is super-important and today those guys really stood above.”
Spithill went on to comment about the potential still left within the Luna Rossa AC75 saying: “There’s a long way to go. We know there’s a bunch of stuff we’re still not doing correctly out there technique-wise – just how we are sailing the boat. The fact is that as you go through this race series, where it really counts, that’s when you get your biggest jump in development usually. So we’re just excited about the potential we’ve still got – because we are nowhere near where we need to be.”
Paul Goodison, port helm on ‘Patriot’ spoke about the fine margins at the very elite level of America’s Cup racing saying: “I thought we sailed pretty well today. We got really good starts, and we won both first crosses. In the past when we have won the first cross, we’ve gone on to win, so we are obviously frustrated that the Italians got round us in a very close race. We have learned that the more consistent we are, the better we are. So, we just have to keep polishing and brushing up around the edges. The Italians sailed a good race, but I don’t think there’s too much in it.”
NYYC American Magic went on to secure a point against Orient Express Racing after a very light airs race that saw both teams fighting to stay on the foils and some snakes and ladders on a tricky course. The Americans just executed better and, despite the race being too close to call at times with the French once again proved they have a fast design. Ultimately a poor layline call and gybe ended French hopes, and the win went to NYYC American Magic by a flattering margin.
For Quentin Delapierre, the regatta is getting serious as he said: “I’m pleased with the boat performance but I’m not happy. I mean they were just in front of us, I think 50 or 60 metres and we had a great comeback. This is the kind of match-race you want to win so it’s really disappointing honestly, but there are a lot of positive vibes on the boat and the boat handling and also for the shore crew. We are in a good rhythmn, but we need to score.”
The only other scoreboard chalk today was by Emirates Team New Zealand who came bouncing back to the racecourse in their impressively repaired ‘Taihoro.’ A race unopposed against the French, who retired before the start with mainsail issues, allowed the Kiwis to give their AC75 a full test at race pace. It passed with flying colours but there will be sterner tests ahead for sure, starting tomorrow.
Blair Tuke, Flight Controller onboard ‘Taihoro’ praised the effort of everyone in the team and spoke about how the patched-up boat felt on the water, saying: “To the whole team, just a massive well done. It certainly tested us as a team over the last few days but an amazing response from everyone. It was a very scary and tense time, a delicate situation and really unlucky to begin with, but lucky with just how minimal the damage was compared to what it could have been. We’re back racing two days later, we didn’t get that much action in, but the boat felt great, and we are back in it, pushing it as we always would. It’s just a credit to everyone in the team.”
Racing continues on Sunday at the conclusion of the opening Round Robin of the Louis Vuitton Cup with four races scheduled. The first race of the day will be the catch-up from today’s abandoned final race between Alinghi Red Bull Racing and Emirates Team New Zealand before the three final scheduled races of the Round Robin.
The pecking order is starting to become established but there is still all to play for as the first Round Robin comes to a conclusion and next week’s deciding second Round Robin begins. The harsh fact remains: one of these fine teams exits the competition a week on Sunday. Racing starts tomorrow at 14:00 CET – don’t miss it.
