America’s Cup: Ineos Britannia book spot against Team NZ in America’s Cup match

Ineos Britannia port trimmer Leigh McMillan celebrates after the team beat Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli to take out the Louis Vuitton Cup final. Photo / Ricardo Pinto, America's Cup

Team New Zealand have received their assignment for the 37th America’s Cup match.

When their defence resumes in Barcelona next weekend, it will be British entry Ineos Britannia trying to pry the Auld Mug from their grasp.

The British needed just one opportunity to seal their spot in the Cup match on Saturday morning, winning the first of two scheduled races for the day to take out the Louis Vuitton Cup final 7-4 against Italy’s Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli.

“It’s a massive day for our team,” Ineos Britannia starboard helmsman Sir Ben Ainslie said.

“I can’t say how proud I am of everyone, not just here on the water, but also back on the shore here in Barcelona and we’ve got a lot of people in Brackley in the UK who have been helping us on the technical side, so this is for the team.”

The win continues the British entry’s surge through the second half of the America’s Cup regatta. They showed massive improvements between the two round robins, and that continued through the semifinals as they dispatched Swiss entry Alinghi Red Bull Racing.

Against Luna Rossa - one of the favourites to make it through to the Cup match when the regatta began - the Brits continued their rise.

Luna Rossa tacked away soon after they had crossed the starting line and the two were locked in a tight tussle on the first upwind leg. The British were able to build their lead to about 170m at the top gate.

However, they couldn’t quite shake Luna Rossa completely and on the fifth leg of the race, the Italians had closed the gap right up again.

But the Brits defended their lead well and sailed a clean race, being able to maintain a lead of about 100m and ultimately sailing to a 17-second win.

Making it through to the Cup match is a major milestone for Ainslie and his team, who resumed Great Britain’s journey in the America’s Cup a decade ago.

“It took a lot of people to come in and support. There was some amazing people who came in and supported the team financially, then of course Jim [Ratcliffe] and his team at Ineos coming in and helping us. That’s another huge thank you to all the supporters of British sailing and British America’s Cup over the years. This moment is for you.”

It has been 60 years since a British entry last earned the right to challenge in the Cup match, and Great Britain has not yet won the Auld Mug in the 173-year history of the America’s Cup.

Speaking to the Herald before the regatta, Ainslie noted that point and said he was all too often reminded of the fact.

“Like you Kiwis are, we’re quite proud of our sporting prowess and certainly as a maritime nation with a strong maritime history, it is a bit of a blot on our copybook that it’s the one international sporting trophy we’ve never won,” he said.

“We’ve done well in offshore sailing, Olympic sailing, but America’s Cup, we still haven’t got there. That’s the goal.”

They’re now as close as they’ve ever been, and will enter a best-of-13 series against Team NZ with the opportunity to reach that goal.

The Cup match is scheduled to begin on October 13 (NZ time).

Result

Ineos Britannia (UK) beat Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (Italy) by 17s

Ineos Britannia win the Louis Vuitton Cup final 7-4.

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.