Stalemate Persists in Louis Vuitton Cup Final as British Team Achieves Record Speed in America’s Cup
by INEOS Britannia 1 Oct 10:02 PDT
1 October 2024
INEOS Britannia – Finals Louis Vuitton Cup – Day 5 – October 1, 2024 © Ian Roman / America’s Cup
The stalemate continues in the Louis Vuitton Cup Final, with INEOS Britannia and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli finishing another race day on equal points. The racing was thrilling in challenging conditions, with Ben Ainslie’s British team achieving the fastest speed in America’s Cup history, reaching 55.6 knots.
The British Challenger of Record, representing the Royal Yacht Squadron in the 37th America’s Cup, won the day’s first race after the Italian boat nosedived around a mark, incurring damage that forced them to retire. Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli managed to effect repairs and returned to claim victory in the second race after INEOS Britannia incurred a boundary penalty in the pre-start, putting them at a disadvantage.
INEOS Britannia Team Principal and Skipper Ben Ainslie remarked: “This was a significant day for both teams, as we were pushing the limits of the wind in those races. Luna Rossa faced an unfortunate issue that sidelined them for the first race but they regrouped well to win the second race.
“We faced a setback in the pre-start of the second race, which left us severely out of position. Despite pushing hard and staying close to the Italians, we could not overtake them.
“With both teams having four points each, we have to maintain our momentum and keep pushing. It’s a battle between two strong teams, and we anticipated this tough competition, so it’s no surprise we are in this situation; it could very well go all the way.”
The pre-start confrontation in the first race adhered to a now-familiar pattern, with Luna Rossa leading from the line and granting INEOS Britannia the option to either turn back inside or pass them. Once again, Ben Ainslie and his team chose to turn back inside, preparing to return to the line to the leeward of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli.
Almost neck-and-neck off the line, it became a drag race towards the boundary. The Italian boat tacked in unison with INEOS Britannia and, as they set up on port tack, Luna Rossa began to pull ahead, forcing the British team to tack away. The Italian crew allowed them to split and sailed onward towards the boundary.
Those two additional tacks cost the British approximately 80m by the time they reached back to port tack. The Italians tacked and closed in for the next cross, while a leftward shift in the breeze handed the advantage back to INEOS Britannia, who could tack ahead of the Italians and take the left-hand mark. The Italians rounded the right-hand mark just one second behind and bore off.
At that point, the race took a dramatic turn; Luna Rossa buried its bow during the bear away, and onboard microphones captured a loud bang. TV coverage showed the jib fairing washing away down the deck. Initially, they remained in race mode, obliging Ainslie and his team to continue racing, but they eventually retired, allowing INEOS Britannia to take the point and a 4-3 overall lead. The Italian team now raced against time to repair any damage incurred.
Luna Rossa successfully completed their repairs between the two races and reentered the competition. The second race commenced after several attempts to keep under the maximum wind limit. While it may have started under the wind limit, the breeze was well over the maximum 21 knots for the majority of the race, leading to a more challenging sea state. This resulted in some of the fastest speeds recorded, with INEOS Britannia breaking the America’s Cup speed record at 55.6 knots while bearing away from the final gate.
Unfortunately for Ben Ainslie and his British crew, the outcome had been determined in the pre-start, as their boat skidded over the boundary while tacking back towards the start line. This error resulted in a penalty, obliging them to start 75m behind Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli.
The Italians seized the opportunity and maintained a tight cover on INEOS Britannia up the first leg. They established a safe lead of 12 seconds at the first gate and carefully protected the favored side of the course, enabling Luna Rossa to stay ahead and secure the victory, despite an average speed 0.2 knots slower. The final margin was 16 seconds, leveling the series again at 4-4.
The Louis Vuitton Cup Final will continue on Wednesday at 13:00 BST (14:00 CEST). UK viewers can catch all the action live on TNT Sports.
