Sir Ben Ainslie’s INEOS Britannia team vying for place in America’s Cup final

SIR Ben Ainslie’s INEOS Britannia team holds a healthy lead over Alinghi Red Bull Racing as they vie for a spot in the America’s Cup final.

Sir Ben, the first-ever freeman of Lymington and Pennington after his London 2012 Olympics heroics, and his team will face an extended battle with the Swiss boat, having lost a race before racing was abandoned due to light wind.

The standings now sit at four wins to one in favour of the team backed by New Forest billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS Group.

It was the first defeat in the semis for INEOS Britannia – who are striving to make history as the first British crew to win the America’s Cup – after winning all their races against Alinghi on Saturday and Sunday.

The other semi-final pairing echoed INEOS Britannia’s result, with Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli facing their first defeat against New York Yacht Club American Magic.

Both pairings were due for a second race on Monday, but after the wind failed to meet the lower limit required, the rest of the schedule was abandoned.

INEOS Britannia are one victory away from the final, with competitors required to win five races. Racing will resume once conditions allow.

INEOS Britannia team principal and skipper Sir Ben Ainslie, who was honoured with the Freedom of Beaulieu River by Lord Montagu in 2021, stated: “It’s always tough in these light conditions. It’s frustrating, but we made a couple of mistakes in some manoeuvers, so we will go back and look at how we can do better in those situations.

“As we keep saying, until you get those five wins, it’s never over. We know we can sail the boat better and set it up better, so that’s positive, but you can never get ahead of yourself in sport, especially in the America’s Cup.”

In marginal conditions, the fifth race between the Brits and Swiss got going after three attempts at a start.

The light air was combining with a swell left over from the previous day’s breeze, and it was reaching up to grab the boats, trying to suck them down into the water every time they slowed to tack or gybe.

INEOS Britannia touched down momentarily in their pre-start routine and entered the box a few seconds late. Alinghi Red Bull Racing could not take advantage though, turning back to start their run to the line a little too early.

Sir Ben, who was awarded a gold-painted post box in Lymington in 2012 to recognize his outstanding achievements in the London Games, and his crew timed their start perfectly, with the Swiss too close to the start line. They got a penalty for their early start, and INEOS Britannia was in the lead.

The conditions remained fragile, though, and covering the moves of the opponent was not an option, as no one could afford an extra tack.

The British crew took a 17-second lead through the first gate before extending that to over a minute by the second leg, with the Swiss team following round the right-hand mark of gate two.

By then, the British crew were tacking at the boundary in some very soft breeze and came off the foils. Alinghi slipped past, and by the time Britannia was back up and flying, Alinghi was 500m in the lead.

The breeze stayed a little more solid for a painfully short period, allowing the Brits to close the gap, but as the breeze softened again, a second touchdown on a tack ended their race.

The Swiss got through gate three and most of the way down the fourth leg before also dropping off the foils.

After that, Alinghi was racing against the 45-minute time limit to complete a race, with neither boat able to get foiling.

The Swiss boat eventually crossed the line with just over three minutes to spare, putting their first point on the board.