Louis Vuitton Cup: Ineos Britannia and Luna Rossa one win away from final as dominance continues

ByEurosport

Published 15/09/2024 at 19:51 GMT

Ineos Britannia and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli can deliver knockout blows in the Louis Vuitton Cup semi-finals on Monday after scoring two more wins. Britannia survived a near-collision to beat Alinghi Red Bull Racing by over three minutes on aggregate, while NYYC American Magic pushed Italy's Luna Rossa crew closer but still stand on the brink of defeat in the best-of-nine contest.

Great Britain maintain perfect record against Switzerland with dominant Race 4 win

Ineos Britannia and Luna Rossa moved into 4-0 leads over Switzerland and the USA respectively in the Louis Vuitton Cup, leaving each boat one win from the final.

Sir Ben Ainslie’s squad were determined to maintain a building tide of momentum after two dominant performances on Saturday, and did exactly that after surviving a pre-start scare against Alinghi Red Bull Racing.

After some initial circling attempts in the pre-start area, the Swiss fell off their foils, only to recover but lose control whilst on the give-way port gybe as Britannia hunted them down, at speed, on the right-of-way starboard gybe.

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Smart sailing from Ainslie avoided a collision and allowed the British to sail off unopposed to a crushing 2:20 win. Their second race was closer but still not close, Ineos Britannia extending their lead on every leg en route to a 48-second margin of victory that put the crew just one more point away from the final.

Regarding the near-collision, Britannia’s Olympic gold medallist port helm Dylan Fletcher said: “I don't ever want to be any closer.

“It is very challenging in that much breeze, with the box size, we did circle and they obviously matched us, and it looked like they tried to pick us up after their tack but fell off the foil, so it was an opportunity to go for the kill. We were quite surprised when they chose to turn down and then I think they lost their rudder. Luckily, we still had ours.

“We have just got to keep getting better and we know that in the history of the Cup it is the boat that progresses and gets the fastest that wins. You don't have to be the fastest at the start, you just need to be the fastest by the end.”

Great Britain take 3-0 lead over Switzerland to close on spot in final

Whoever does reach the final will face either Italy or the USA in a first-to-seven battle for Louis Vuitton Cup glory, and the right to fight reigning champions Emirates Team New Zealand for the 37th America’s Cup.

Maxime Bachelin, the young Swiss port helm on Alinghi Red Bull Racing, added: “To sum things up I would say we can make no mistakes anymore.

“The way we feel is that the only way is forward and so let us push for tomorrow. There is only one point left so we cannot lose, let us go for it.”

With winds gusting above 18 knots and recorded speeds on the racecourse in excess of 50 knots, the best of the racing came between the Italians and Americans.

Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli took the lead at the start of the first race and capitalised on small boat-handling errors by the Americans to take a well-managed victory by 26 seconds.

With the Americans needing a point to avoid entering must-win territory, the second race of the day was much tighter and came down to a brilliant call by Italian helmsman Francesco Bruni.

Both crews fought tooth and nail across all six legs of the course but were undone when Bruni crossed the Americans in the final 100 metres of the last leg, clinching a slender two-second victory and placing NYYC American Magic in the last-chance saloon.

“We are just taking one race at a time whether we are four up or four down, we are two very evenly matched teams,” Luna Rossa skipper Jimmy Spithill said.

“You see that on the racetrack where there is just little things here and there that are going to make the difference. Two good ones today, but we were under the pump in that last one.”

Racing in the Louis Vuitton Cup semi-finals resumes on Monday at 13:00 BST with up to two races per pairing. However, Ineos Britannia and Luna Rossa must score just one more point each to land knockout blows and end the semi-final stage three days early.

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