Stellar conditions on a stunning Sunday (15 September) in Barcelona gave a global audience a thrilling spectacle of top-class racing in the dynamic AC75 yachts. As the sun set on a glorious day, the points table showed Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli and INEOS Britannia — after scoring double race wins — just one point away from eliminating their opponents and securing their places in the Louis Vuitton Cup Final.
With winds gusting above 18 knots and recorded speeds on the racecourse in excess of 50 knots (92.6 km/h), Sunday saw the best racing coming between Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli and NYYC American Magic. In the first race the Italians were fired up from the start and eclipsed the hard-driving Americans immediately off the start line, going on to capitalise on small boat-handling errors by the latter and securing vital boat positioning through outstanding race management, to win by 26 seconds.
In their second race of the day, and with NYYC American Magic fighting for their lives, it was nip and tuck all the way over six legs of the course. Everything ultimately came down to a brilliant call to cross the Americans by Italian helmsman Francesco Bruni in the final 100 metres of the last leg, one that secured a slender two second victory and relegated NYYC American Magic to the last-chance saloon.
Following a dominant performance on Saturday (14 September), INEOS Britannia were determined to maintain a building tide of momentum that is feeling somewhat unstoppable at the moment. Two races, and two outstanding performances from the British sees them also at 4-0, but they survived what can only be described as a ’near miss’ in the pre-start of the first race of the day against Alinghi Red Bull Racing.
After some initial circling attempts in the pre-start area, the Swiss fell off their foils, only to recover but lose control while on the give-way port gybe as Britannia hunted them down, at speed, on the right-of-way starboard gybe. Smart sailing from Sir Ben Ainslie avoided a collision and allowed the British to sail off unopposed to a two minute and 20 second victory.
A slightly closer tussle ensued initially in the second race of the day, but ultimately the result was the same. INEOS Britannia showed her power to extend on every leg of the course and record a 48 second win. The British now stand just one race away from making the Louis Vuitton Cup Final.
Racing resumes Monday (16 September) at 2pm CEST with up to two races per pairing. For the sailors and their support teams sitting at 4-0 down, it is set to be a long night as they dissect and analyse every aspect of their performances. For the British and Italian teams at 4-0 up, it’s now all about trusting in the process and delivering the knock-out blow.
