Britain will compete for the America’s Cup for the first time in 60 years after securing the victory needed for the right to face the defending champions, New Zealand, next week. “We’ve got one more to go, boys,” the skipper, Sir Ben Ainslie, reminded his crew, as they crossed the finish line to defeat their Italian rivals.
Ineos Britannia had won the first of two scheduled races to secure a 7-4 victory in Barcelona over Luna Rossa in a best-of-13 series to lift the Louis Vuitton Cup.
Ainslie, the four-time Olympic gold medal-winning sailor, will now seek to wrestle the Auld Mug from the New Zealanders in the America’s Cup from 12 October, again in Barcelona. Victory would be a 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 Captain Robert Scott.
“It’s been a while,” said Ainslie of the British 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 race in ideal sailing conditions, Britannia headed Luna Rossa from early on, opening up a significant distance in a flawless opening two legs, finding clear air while the chaser battled turbulence. Ainslie’s team had control, assembled fans clapping them on and waving Union Jacks as they led at the halfway stage. The Italians gave chase, closing the gap in the fifth leg to less than 20 metres, the wind conditions playing into their hands, but they still found no means to overtake 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 clearly into the final leg, Ainslie steering and catching the greater wind to maintain a lead the desperate Italians could not close. They passed the finish line first by a clear distance.
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Ainslie’s co-helm, Dylan Fletcher, who won Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020, will come up against the sailors he pushed into silver, Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, who will lead the New Zealand challenge next weekend. “Bring on the Kiwis,” said Fletcher, a late call-up after years of asking Ainslie for a role, overjoyed to fulfil “a lifelong dream” and “looking forward to showing what we can do in the America’s Cup next weekend”.
Italy’s veteran co-helm, Jimmy Spithill, twice a winner of the America’s Cup with the United States, immediately announced his retirement, saying: “It’s tough, but that’s sport and it’s going to be a tough few days for the team. The better team won and I just want to say ‘well done’ to Ben and Dylan and the whole team.”
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the co-owner of Manchester United who also owns the Ineos Grenadiers cycling team with an interest in Formula One’s Mercedes team, who assisted in Britannia’s production, celebrated one of his greatest successes beyond the petrochemical business that made his fortune. Ratcliffe was asked aboard from the flotilla of spectator yachts to lift the trophy his finances had made possible. Ainslie thanked “Jim and his team at Ineos [for] coming in and helping us”.
