Team New Zealand will finally return to match racing on Sunday morning when they begin their best-of-13 series against Ineos Britannia in Barcelona.
The match will be the first competitive racing in a month for Team NZ, who showed some impressive signs in the preliminary regatta and round-robins, before leaving the stage to let the remaining challengers duke it out.
“What we really wanted to do was just gauge our performance,” Team NZ chief operating officer Kevin Shoebridge told the Herald.
“We hadn’t done any real racing in the boat prior to that, so it was a good opportunity for us to go around the course, look at our performance based on everyone, and I think generally we were very happy.
“Although our points didn’t count for the round-robins, we ended up winning more races than anyone else, so I think that was a really good result.”
Ineos Britannia are the last challenger standing, after eliminating Italian syndicate Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli 7-4 in the Louis Vuitton Cup final.
The rise of Britannia
Coming into the regatta, Ineos Britannia were a step off the pace. Luna Rossa and American Magic were tipped as the two to watch among the challengers, with Ineos Britannia, Alinghi Red Bull Racing and Orient Express Racing Team dark horses, as Sir Ben Ainslie put it.
“I think we’re coming at it with a little bit of a late charge so it’ll be interesting and critical for us that that late charge is a fast one,” Ainslie told the Herald prior to the final preliminary regatta in August.
That’s exactly what they did; finding the speed and performance to go from being middle of the table after the first round-robin to being the top-seeded challenger after the double round-robin stage.
From there, they continued to impress; eliminating Alinghi Red Bull Racing 5-2 in the semifinals and Luna Rossa 7-4 in the final.
What do we know about the teams?
It’s hard to say for certain exactly what to expect from Team New Zealand when they get back on the racecourse. They showed they had a fast boat during the round-robins and one that could handle a variety of conditions. We haven’t, however, seen them race in the top-end conditions like those served up for most of the Louis Vuitton Cup final.
Ineos Britannia and Emirates Team NZ will meet in the match to decide the 37th America's Cup. Photo / Job Vermeulen, America's Cup
They have been spending time on the course before and between races in the final, working on their starts and their manoeuvring, but they haven’t had that test of proper racing in those strong breezes yet. A few days out, forecasts show winds in the light-to-mid range will welcome the series in the opening days, so that might not be a question that gets answered.
The British have shown they have a good handle on those heavier conditions, but questions still remain over their light air performance. The lower end of the wind limits have tested the British previously in the regatta, but that wasn’t something they faced in the final.
We do know the Brits have a good read on the conditions and set their boat up well for racing, and they are aggressive in the starting box.
Nathan Outteridge noted as much when speaking to the Herald last week, with the starts being a big area of focus for the Cup match.
“They push for it,” Outteridge said. “They’re very aggressive in the pre-start; they like to do the extra manoeuvres and try to create a situation they can win from.”
Another key question is how much do Ineos Britannia still have in the tank? Port helmsman Dylan Fletcher gave an interview in the Times where he noted the team was feeling it after a testing challenger series, and summed up the intrigue of the Cup match.
“The Kiwis are formidable opponents and they have known about the rules, the loopholes and had the extra development time,” Fletcher said.
“A lot of things are stacked in their favour, but on the other side they have not had a lot of racing experience.
“We have got a lot faster, but how much faster have they got?
“Are we sharper? Is our playbook going to stand up to their playbook in the pre-start? These are all the unknowns.”
When are they racing?
The schedule is a bit stop-start early, before building to a potentially big crescendo. The Cup match begins with two races on each of Sunday and Monday morning, with reserve days scheduled on Tuesday and Wednesday. The teams return to racing on Thursday, before another reserve day on Friday, which is tailed by four straight race days if required.
The Cup match is scheduled to run from October 13-22, though the days from October 23-28 are available as reserve days should they be needed.
The regatta is being live-streamed on the America’s Cup YouTube channel and can be viewed live on Three and ThreeNow. Racing is scheduled to begin at 1am NZ time each day.
TAB Odds
Team New Zealand: $1.50
Ineos Britannia: $2.40
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.
