BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — A British yacht is back in the America’s Cup finals for the first time since 1964 after INEOS Britannia finished off Italy’s Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli on Friday.
Britannia scored the winning point for a 7-4 series victory after a fast and flawless race that it finished 17 seconds ahead of Luna Rossa. Britannia claimed the Louis Vuitton Cup for being the best of five challengers.
The boat skippered by Olympic great Ben Ainslie will next face defender Team Emirates New Zealand in a first-to-seven wins series for the America’s Cup starting on Oct. 12.
Despite holding the most Olympic medals in sailing and having a rich maritime tradition, Britain has never won the biggest prize in the sport — a wait that runs back 173 years.
“One more to go boys!” Ainslie told his sailors, who shouted with joy as they crossed the finish line.
Britain has been chasing the America's Cup ever since the schooner America won the race’s very first edition back in 1851 when it bested Royal Yacht Squadron in a loop around the Isle of Wight, with Queen Victoria herself in attendance. This is the 23rd time it has challenged for the Auld Mug, more than any other nation.
Now, it is the closest it has come to finally winning the cup in sixty years.
It will face a New Zealand team that has won the past two editions in 2017 and 2021. As defending champion in this truly winner-takes-all competition, the Kiwis got to choose the rules and the location of the regattas, so in theory they should have an edge that the Brits must overcome.
The British will have on their side the real racing experience over recent weeks. They have gone from outside threat to the fastest ship of the challenger’s fleet. Before racing started, New Zealand leader Grant Dalton said that he put both Luna Rossa and American Magic a notch above Britannia, but warned that the Brits could pull off a surprise.
That they did, delivering a nearly flawless Louis Vuitton finals series, while Luna Rossa’s chances were hurt by structural problems to their silver-hulled yacht.
The Britannia team has the financial backing of billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, who also bought into storied soccer club Manchester United this year. It has also benefitted from a partnership with the Mercedes Formula One team.
The British win over the Italians avenged a 7-1 loss to Luna Rossa in the same stage of the 2021 event in Auckland.
Only four nations have ever won the cup. After the 30 titles by American boats, New Zealand has won it three times, Switzerland twice and Australia once.
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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
Joseph Wilson, The Associated Press
