A pre-start penalty and light winds dominated Race Day 2 of the 37th America’s Cup Match between INEOS Britannia and Defenders Emirates Team New Zealand in Barcelona. The day ended with only one of the two scheduled races taking place, as racing was abandoned due to the breeze dropping below the minimum limit. The first race of the day was won by the Kiwis after INEOS Britannia was dealt a penalty following a controversial maneuver by Emirates Team New Zealand.
INEOS Britannia Team Principal and Skipper Ben Ainslie said: “That was a tough call, we felt like we were keeping clear but obviously the umpires didn’t see it that way. We knew there was no point dwelling on it, we took it on the chin and focused on the rest of the race. I don’t think we’ve sailed at our highest level yet, but I have no doubt in our team. We have the resilience and the determination to find that performance and come back stronger. We’ve already shown we can do that across this competition and we will continue pushing hard.”
Ainslie’s British team was handed a penalty after an aggressive move by the Kiwis in the pre-start of the first race. After gaining the right of way, the Kiwis lined INEOS Britannia who had been cleanly crossing behind. The boats came breath-takingly close as both swerved away to avoid what would have been a big collision, with the foils slicing past centimeters away each other. Both boats protested, and the umpires had to make a judgement. They decided the Brits did not do enough to keep clear of the right of way boat, and handed them a penalty which meant they had to get 75m behind the Kiwis once across the start line.
INEOS Britannia managed to recover well from clearing the penalty to decrease New Zealand’s lead from 100m to just 2m, but the kiwis defended well to extend their advantage. The Kiwis then had the first choice on the wind shifts and better lanes of breeze, and used it well to maintain that lead throughout the race and take the win by a margin of 52 seconds. This took the scoreboard to 3-0 to Emirates Team New Zealand, and racing was then abandoned due to light wind.
INEOS Britannia Trimmer Leigh McMillan said: “There’s plenty of time for us to get ahead in this Match. We are making steps forward all the time and we are still raring to go. It’s amazing to be in the Match and these battles are what we live for. We’ve done a good job of the battles throughout this competition and I'm confident we can do the same again.”
The Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Match resumes on Monday, with the abandoned Race 4 scheduled to take place. UK viewers can watch all the action live on TNT Sports from 13:00 BST (14:00 CEST).