Ben Ainslie’s team got two wins on the board in the America’s Cup, but does Ainslie think his team have enough to mount a full on comeback? It looked, initially, as if the America\u2019s Cup was going to be a short, sharp, and bloody execution for the British Challengers, who went 4-0 down in the first three days of racing.
\nBut today Ben Ainslie and team stemmed the tide, by winning two America\u2019s Cup races on Day 4. It is a truly historic result for British sailing, the first wins in the America\u2019s Cup in 90 years. But have they also done enough to reverse the momentum?
\nYesterday in Barcelona was humid, overcast and breezy, while the Mediterranean was grey and lumpen. INEOS Britannia motored out, and stayed out for several hours practising what appeared to be tight manoeuvres. Today, the sun might have returned but the sea state remained, and INEOS Britannia won both pre-starts \u2013 and capitalised on them in order to win both races.
\n\u201cThe sea state was big yesterday, and it was big today,\u201d commented Ainslie after racing.
\n\u201cWe certainly feel like every day we\u2019re out in the water, we\u2019re unlocking more potential than the boat. [Yesterday] was really focussing on our own performance and trying to figure that out \u2013 it wasn\u2019t really necessarily about what the Kiwis were doing.
\n\u201cI can\u2019t tell you what\u2019s going through their minds. What I can tell you is our team are prepared to put the work in, and effort into finding those gains and take it all the way.\u201d
\nEmirates Team New Zealand also demonstrated today that they are not foot-perfect, making a couple of errors, but Ainslie explained that those errors were the result of situations the British squad have practised, and set up on the racecourse.
\n\u201cThat was a tricky position for them, but I think we forced it on them\u201d. Photo: Ricardo Pinto \/ America\u2019s Cup
\n\u201cUltimately, we made them gybe in the pre-start dial down [in the first race], and I don\u2019t think they had enough speed to gybe. Then we were able to get some gas on them as well, which got them off the foil. That was a tricky position for them, but I think we forced it on them.
\n\u201cWe\u2019ve been practising some different approaches to the start, and [the second race] was one of them. We just made it work, but it was a powerful position for us.\u201d
\nTrimmer Bleddyn Mon explained further: \u201c[The second race] was obviously a slightly unconventional set up to what we\u2019ve seen in pre-starts up until now. But it\u2019s something we\u2019ve been looking at in the simulator and analysing in terms of how the pre-starts have played out up until now.
\nArticle continues below\u2026<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t173 years of hurt: Ben Ainslie\u2019s America\u2019s Cup crew stands on the precipice of greatness<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u201cIf we go out there and get beaten, they\u2019ll send us home. If, however, we win today, they\u2019ll let us\u2026<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u201cWe still have a few things left in our pocket\u201d INEOS Britannia helm Dylan Fletcher on today\u2019s historic win and facing the Kiwis in the America\u2019s Cup<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tINEOS Britannia co-helm Dylan Fletcher says that the Louis Vuitton Cup final series pushed the British squad and boat harder\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cSo yeah, it was a play that we had up our sleeve and worked out quite nicely. Obviously, we were close on the pin, but had good timing in the end and able to come away with a good start.\u201d
\nAinslie added: \u201cThe Kiwis are a great team, but they are capable of the odd mistake, and I think the trick for us is to really build on that and the momentum that we\u2019ve got with our team and the confidence that that gives us that we can beat them, and keep putting the pressure on us.\u201d
\nNow or never for Ainslie\u2019s America\u2019s Cup team
\nTomorrow is a lay day \u2013 possibly frustratingly for the Brits, as it looks like the last day of solid breeze and wave state. Now INEOS Britannia have taken two races, Friday will once again be a scheduled race day. Meanwhile Saturday and Sunday currently look very light indeed. So what more can the British do with the time they have left?
\n\u201cEvery chance we get to get out sailing on this boat, I\u2019m confident we find more performance. It\u2019s now or never,\u201d said Ainslie.
\n\u201cI\u2019m sure there\u2019s plenty left in the tank. It\u2019s just how quickly we can find that performance. That\u2019s the trick for us. I don\u2019t know. I need to have a look at the forecast tomorrow, whether we want to get out again. I think we\u2019ve sailed something like five or six days in a row, which is pushing it. But I know we can get more performance.\u201d
\nFollow all of our 2024 America\u2019s Cup coverage
\nThe post Ben Ainslie: \u201cIt\u2019s now or never\u201d Has momentum shifted for INEOS Britannia in the America\u2019s Cup? appeared first on Yachting World.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ben Ainslie’s team got two wins on the board in the America’s Cup, but does Ainslie think his team have enough to mount a full on comeback? It looked, initially, as if the America\u2019s Cup was going to be a … <\/p>\n