America’s Cup: Ineos Britannia fight back with two race wins

Ineos Britannia, the Challenger of Record, has achieved back-to-back victories on the fourth day of racing in the America’s Cup yesterday (16 October 2024), bringing the score to 4-2 and interrupting the momentum that had been building in favour of Emirates Team New Zealand.

This marks the first time in over ninety years, since 1934, that the British have won two races in an America’s Cup Match. In 1934, Sir T.O.M. Sopwith’s Endeavour won the first two races before Harold Vanderbilt’s Rainbow came back to win the series 4-2. Ineos Britannia have openly admitted they are the ‘underdogs’ in the cup, as they attempt to make history in Barcelona this week.

A warm and humid day in the Spanish city produced southerly thermal breezes of 7-11 knots for both races and challenging conditions on the course.

The first race began on schedule with the wind exceeding the 6.5 knots lower limit for racing, though the residual sea state created challenges for keeping the AC75s consistently flying. The race was largely decided early when Emirates Team New Zealand – who were 4-0 up at the start of the day’s racing – entered the starting box from the port end but lacked the speed to cross Ineos Britannia’s starboard gybe entry. After an onboard decision to gybe, the New Zealand team lost speed and dropped into displacement mode. Meanwhile, the British team remained on their foils and managed to overtake their rivals, applying wing-wash pressure. Emirates Team New Zealand struggled to regain speed, giving Ineos Britannia an early lead of over 1,700 metres before the Kiwis could resume flying. From there, the British focused on staying on their foils and maintaining control.

The British crew manoeuvred their boat through the remaining six legs, holding a lead of one minute and 29 seconds by the final windward mark. Despite steady efforts by Emirates Team New Zealand to close the gap, they were unable to catch up unless the British fell off their foils, which did not happen. The British crew secured their first win of the match, finishing one minute and 18 seconds ahead.

With the score at 4-1 in favour of Emirates Team New Zealand, the second race took on added significance. Ineos Britannia started from the port side, and both teams displayed aggressive pre-start tactics. The British team crossed the Kiwis, tacked above the start line, and were closely followed by Emirates Team New Zealand. As both boats approached the boundary, the British executed a peel-away manoeuvre, while a protest from the Kiwis was quickly denied by the umpires. The British gybed first and regained control, achieving a starting advantage.

In the final 20 seconds before the start, Britannia used their superior speed to position themselves favourably, while Emirates Team New Zealand tacked to the right of the course. With a 10-knot speed advantage, the British maintained their lead throughout the eight legs of the race, keeping the time delta under 16 seconds at every gate. However, a mistake by the New Zealand team at the leeward gate in the final stretch diminished their chances of overtaking the British. Despite a few slow tacks and one misjudged gybe, Ineos Britannia managed to hold off their rivals and secure a seven-second victory.

Reflecting on the day’s performance, Sir Ben Ainslie, skipper of Ineos Britannia, said: “Big day, massive day for the team. We really needed that, and I can’t say enough about how everyone across the board responded to being four down – the designers, engineers, shore team all coming together to find those little gains, to up the performance out there on the racecourse and that’s what we got today.” He added that the improvements were due to “little things” in the boat’s setup and sailing techniques, highlighting the contributions of the coaching team and engineers.

Blair Tuke, port trimmer and flight controller for Emirates Team New Zealand, acknowledged the British team’s performance, saying: “They certainly came out well and to notch two wins against us in those conditions is a great effort by them. We will look back on today as a day where we let some opportunities slip.” Tuke reflected on the team’s missteps in the first race, particularly during the pre-start, and recognised that the swell contributed to their drop into displacement mode.

Despite the losses, Tuke says the team retains confidence in their boat’s speed. “Even in that first race we were making gains and definitely felt the same in the second race,” he said, adding that the focus would be on refining their execution.

With the score now at 4-2, the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Match has become more closely contested. Ineos Britannia’s victories have slowed Emirates Team New Zealand’s earlier momentum, and the upcoming races on Friday (18 October), are expected to continue this intense competition in Barcelona.