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Great Britain reignited their America’s Cup bid by winning both races in Barcelona on Wednesday to close the gap on leaders New Zealand to two points.
Sir Ben Ainslie’s Ineos Britannia boat capitalised on an error at the start by their rivals to win race five by over a minute and claim Britain’s first America’s Cup point since 1934.
And they held off a gutsy comeback by New Zealand in the second race of the day to make it 4-2 and give them hope of further reducing the deficit when racing resumes on Friday.
Ainslie said: “It was a solid effort from the team today and that was really for everyone – a big team effort. There’s still a long way to go, but the comeback’s on.
“We were out here yesterday training on our own and we get better at sailing this boat every day. That’s down to the shore team, the designers and the technicians and the squad on the water.”
The British team seized their chance at the start of race five as New Zealand were caught tacking and Ainslie took full advantage to build up an unassailable 250-metre lead by leg five.
The sixth race was a tougher challenge but once again the British team took their opportunity at the start, securing a commanding advantage which Kiwi skipper Peter Burling tried gamely to haul back, with Ainslie crossing the finish line seven seconds clear.
Ainslie’s team-mate Dylan Fletcher added: “It’s a great day for the team. We really needed to get those two wins on the board. New Zealand have set the bar pretty high, but we’re just hoping to keep the pressure on and keep that momentum going.”
New Zealand remain favourites to win the first-to-seven series and retain the trophy they won with victory over Italy in Auckland in 2021.
Team New Zealand’s Nathan Outteridge said: “I don’t think any of us are surprised – we know they’re very good sailors. We didn’t really execute the best day ourselves so we’ll go and review that and come back next time in better shape.”
