Britain will compete for the America’s Cup for the first time in 60 years after securing the victory needed to pip their Italian rivals to the right to face the defending champions, New Zealand, next week.
Ineos Britannia won the first of two scheduled races in Barcelona on Friday to become the first boat to take seven victories, defeating Luna Rossa 7-4 in a best-of-13 series to lift the Louis Vuitton Cup.
The British campaign, skippered by the four-time Olympic gold medal-winning sailor Sir Ben Ainslie, will now seek to wrestle the “Auld Mug” from the New Zealanders in the America’s Cup from 12 to 17 October. Victory would be the first for British sailing since the competition began in 1851. The last time Britain sailed in the America’s Cup was in 1964 with a boat skippered by Sir Peter Scott, the son of the Antarctic explorer Robert Scott.
“It’s been a while,” said Ainslie of the British 173-year wait. “ It’s a big moment isn’t it? There’s a lot of pressure on these organisations, a huge amount of investment in time and money, and you want to make it right, you want to make it count.”
Ainslie has made it his mission to “bring the cup home”, spearheading a campaign costing more than £100m. “It’s a massive day for our team,” he said, addressing Britannia’s technical and support crew. “This moment is for you.”
In the decisive leg, Britannia led Luna Rossa from early on, opening up a significant lead in a flawless opening two legs, finding clear air while the chaser found turbulence. Ainslie’s team had control, their assembled fans clapping them on as they led at the halfway stage. The Italians gave chase, closing the gap in the fifth leg right down to below 20m, the wind conditions playing into their hands but they still found no means to pass their opponents.
Luna Rossa waited in vain for their opportunity to pass but Britannia continued to play it safe, and opened the gap back up. Britannia led into the final leg, Ainslie steering into the greater wind to maintain a lead the desperate Italians could not close. They passed the finish line with a clear distance, Ainslie telling his crew: “We’ve got one more to go, boys.”
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Ainslie’s co-helm, Dylan Fletcher, who won Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020 himself, will come up against the sailors he and Stuart Bithell pushed into silver, Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, who lead the New Zealand challenge. “Bring on the Kiwis,” said Fletcher.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the co-owner of Manchester United who also owns the elite Ineos Grenadiers cycling team, with an interest in Formula One’s Mercedes team, who have assisted in the boat’s production, could celebrate one of his greatest successes beyond the petrochemical business that made his billionaire fortune. As the team celebrated victory, Ratcliffe was invited on board to lift the trophy his finances had made possible, Ainslie thanking “Jim and his team at Ineos [for] coming in and helping us.”
