INEOS Britannia went into Saturday’s action in Barcelona knowing they needed to win every single race left in the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Match if they wanted to overhaul defending champions Emirates Team New Zealand.
The breeze was too light initially forcing a small postponement, however it picked up enough for the two boats to start Race 9 with the Kiwi boat tacking smartly to build up an early lead of 19 seconds by the starboard marker.
INEOS Britannia rounded the port marker 22 seconds behind but they managed to eat into the deficit by heading to the right boundary, their tactics soon seeing the Emirates Team New Zealand lead cut entirely.
The defending champions, though, have been here before and their experience showed as they nailed a starboard gybe to take a 12-second lead at the port marker, which they extended to 17 seconds as they powered ahead at the next port marker fuelled by 43 knots of wind.
The Kiwis then sailed fast towards the left of the course before gybing and angling towards the finish, which they crossed to win by 37 seconds and claim another Auld Mug. They have officially made history as the first continuous team to win the America’s Cup three times in a row.
Emirates Team New Zealand skipper Peter Burling said: “It’s a pretty surreal feeling, it’s still definitely sinking in. In the America’s Cup, you’re all ready for a long battle but to be able to get it done today in just beautiful sailing conditions with a little bit of shift in it and just so many people cheering us on, was amazing.”
INEOS Britannia’s Sir Ben Ainslie said: “First of all, I’ve got to say credit to Emirates Team New Zealand; an amazing achievement for that organisation and for our team to get into the America’s Cup itself was a huge achievement. We’ve been on quite a journey for the last 10 years, especially the last three years. I think we’ve got a great group of people and we can take it to the next level.”
Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Final Standings (After 9 of 13 races)
1. Emirates Team New Zealand – 7 points
2. INEOS Britannia – 2
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