Conditions were perfect in Barcelona on Saturday (7 September) for the seventh day of the Louis Vuitton Cup, with the wind clocking round to the south-south-west and delivering a breeze that topped out at 17 knots and an off-axis swell – challenging conditions that saw the big sailing names perform.
It was a highly significant day for INEOS Britannia who showed every ounce of their potential, scoring first a win against Alinghi Red Bull Racing and then inflicting the first challenger defeat on Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, with a clinical display of pace, power and race-craft from Sir Ben Ainslie’s team.
INEOS Britannia showed all of their potential in the breeze with an initial commanding win over Alinghi Red Bull Racing early in the afternoon, while Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli stayed ruthlessly determined and edged a close race with NYYC American Magic.
But the showdown of the day was INEOS Britannia against Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, where the British dominated right from the start and negated the high mode that the Italians can deploy to such devastating effect on initial drag race off the start line.
Having navigated this trap and seizing the lead, the British never looked back, although a small nosedive on a gybe exit on the final downwind leg to the finish was a reminder of the fine margins between success and failure in these AC75s. INEOS Britannia survived and slapped a 25-second defeat onto Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli to secure their passage to the semi-finals of the Louis Vuitton Cup.
Sir Ben Ainslie, skipper of INEOS Britannia, was delighted with the team’s performance, saying: “It’s a great day for the team, we all know the America’s Cup is a bit of a battle to try and get the maximum performance out of these boats and for whatever reason we haven’t really done a great job of that so far, but today in those conditions we set the boat up well and showed what it’s capable of.
“We haven’t really raced that much in that sort of swell and breeze strength but it certainly felt like we got it hooked up in that stuff and it was going well. We did a nice job on that right hand side and if you’ve got a bit of extra speed, it makes the tactics look pretty good and we’ve got to keep looking to find those gains and take each day at a time.”
Jimmy Spithill, starboard helm for Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli was sanguine about the team’s first loss against a challenger but gave praise to the British team. “They had good performance today — we were impressed,” he said. “I think we’re going to see the whole fleet have strong points, everyone’s going to have their pros and cons in various conditions and yes, those guys looked good today.”
For the Swiss and French, meanwhile, it was a tough day at the office for both teams and they remain locked in battle for the final semi-final spot, but with the Swiss holding a slender one-point advantage.
Orient Express Racing Team came in with high hopes of securing a win against NYYC American Magic and — despite it being close right to the finish — it was the Americans who recorded the win, securing their berth in the semi-finals and leaving Quentin Delapierre knowing that it’s do or die tomorrow in the Swiss team’s race against INEOS Britannia.
Succumbing to the loss against the British and then a second loss to Emirates Team New Zealand on Saturday, Alinghi Red Bull Racing looked to be struggling for horsepower in the breeze and waves. Emirates Team New Zealand also had an uncustomary ragged start, but clinical race execution thereafter against the Swiss,
If the schedule is completed on Sunday (8 September), racing will see the final spot in the semi-final secured. It’s a straight deal: Orient Express Racing Team must beat INEOS Britannia to draw level with Alinghi Red Bull Racing. For the Swiss, they will guarantee their spot if they beat Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli but will face a race-off if the French finish tied on points. Racing starts at 2pm CET on a day that’s not to be missed.
