INEOS Britannia selects Alinghi Red Bull Racing as Louis Vuitton Cup Semi-Final opponent
by INEOS Britannia 13 Sep 10:07 BST
Louis Vuitton Cup, Race Day 5 © Ian Roman / America's Cup
INEOS Britannia, the British Challenger of Record racing for the Royal Yacht Squadron Ltd in the 37th America's Cup, has chosen to race Alinghi Red Bull Racing (SUI) in the Louis Vuitton Cup Semi-Final.
Ben Ainslie's British team won the right to select its opponent after coming top of the group in the Round Robin stage, where each team raced each other twice. It means the second Semi-Final pairing will be Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (ITA) v New York Yacht Club American Magic (USA). The first team to win five races in each pairing will progress to the Louis Vuitton Cup (Challenger Selection Series) Final.
Ben Ainslie, Team Principal and Skipper of INEOS Britannia, said selecting their opponent "definitely wasn't a straightforward decision".
Ainslie said: "Every team has their strengths and weaknesses, especially in different conditions. So the forecast for the Semi-Final period was a really important factor in our decision. In all honesty, we didn't actually confirm our decision until a few hours ago and we had input from our sailing team and coaches as well as our performance, analysis and technical teams. We think Alinghi will be a good test and give us a good chance to keep learning, developing and progressing through the competition.
"Obviously it's a great position to be in, coming top of the Round Robins and choosing our opponent in the Semis, but we're not getting ahead of ourselves. We know there's a lot more to do and our main focus now is getting points on the board and making good performance gains."
INEOS Britannia won both of its Round Robin races against Alinghi Red Bull Racing, while it lost one of its two races against NYYC American Magic. The British crew ended up racing Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli three times, due to the two teams being tied on points and having to take part in a sail-off to decide the winner of the Round Robin stage. INEOS Britannia won the sail-off, taking its tally against the Italians to two wins and one loss.
Ben Ainslie announced the team's choice of Semi-Final opponent on the Inside Tack x Performance People podcast on Friday morning. As well as picking their opponent, Ainslie and his crew also got to decide which side of the course they start on and whether they were the first or second race of the day. They opted for starboard entry side and second race of the day.
The Semi-Final kicks off tomorrow, Saturday 14 September, with two races for each pairing. Joining Ainslie on-board INEOS Britannia's AC75 race boat, Britannia, will be Dylan Fletcher as Co-Helm, Bleddyn Mon and Leigh McMillan as Trimmers, and four Cyclors (cycling sailors) who will rotate on and off the boat between races to ensure optimum performance. The Cyclor crew consists of: Ben Cornish, David 'Freddie' Carr, Matt Gotrel, Neil Hunter, Harry Leask, Luke Parkinson, Matt Rossiter, James Skulczuk and Ryan Todhunter.
UK viewers can watch all the Semi-Final races live on TNT Sports from 13:00 BST (14:00 CEST) each race day.