Sir Ben Ainslie and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS Britannia top America’s Cup qualifying stage

SIR Ben Ainslie’s INEOS Britannia team has clinched the top spot in the round-robin qualifying stage as they strive to make history as the first British crew to win the America’s Cup.

As group winners, Sir Ben – who became the first-ever freeman of Lymington and Pennington after his London 2012 Olympics heroics – and his team can choose their semi-final opponents.

The team, backed by New Forest billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS Group, finished as group winners in the Louis Vuitton Cup ahead of Italy, the United States, Switzerland and France, who have been eliminated.

From the start, Sir Ben, who was awarded the Freedom of Beaulieu River by Lord Montagu in 2021, and his team looked sharp.

They quickly dispatched the NYCC American Magic before victories against Emirates Team New Zealand, Alinghi Red Bull Racing (Switzerland), and Orient Express Racing Team (France).

A loss to the Americans broke the streak. Still, they returned to form against Alinghi Red Bull Racing and Orient Express Racing Team before defeating Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (Italy) in a sail-off.

With palpable tension in the air, the British team picked up their second win in as many races against Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, and it was a dominant performance and a serious marker of intent for the rest of the tournament.

The America’s Cup is the oldest international trophy in sport.

Speaking dockside, a delighted Sir Ben, whose links to Lymington earned him a post box painted gold in 2012 in honour of his achievements in the London Games, said: “It’s another great step forward for the team.

“We had a really good day the other day in some breeze, so to up the performance in the lighter stuff is an area where we’ve been struggling a little bit, and the team have been doing a really good job trying to figure that out.

“It feels like we’ve got some really good momentum, and I’m delighted for the whole team again – not just us as sailors but the shore team, the designers and engineers, both here and back in the UK – so a big day for the team.”

Skipper Sir Ben is expected to reveal who they will select for the semi-final in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Barcelona, which starts on Saturday and runs until the 19th September, in Friday’s pre-semi-finals press conference.