Sir Ben Ainslie vows to keep fighting despite Great Britain facing major battle in America’s Cup following two huge defeats against New Zealand
- Great Britain suffered two major defeats in the America’s Cup on Friday
- Sir Ben Ainslie has not given up hope despite frustrating setbacks
If Sir Ben Ainslie is to make history in the America’s Cup, Britain’s hopes rest on rediscovering its habit of saving lost causes. After two big defeats on Friday, such a prospect seems to be quickly sinking beneath the waves.
After fighting so hard for a pair of wins and some momentum on Wednesday, Ineos Britannia now face match point at 6-2 against Team New Zealand in this best-of-seven showdown in Barcelona. Everything could be completed by Saturday afternoon.
“It’s not over yet, so we’ll keep fighting,” Ainslie said. With him that’s a certainty, but only a bold gambler would bet on Britain ending its 173-year wait for the trophy at this point.
Pete Burling’s defending champions were clear in the seventh and eighth races of the series, with a gap between their stern and the British bow of more than 1,000 meters at the end of both races. For whistleblowers, that meant margins of 73 and 55 seconds – a grind in plain language.
Ainslie’s team pointed to damage to the rudder sustained in a collision with a submerged object during the last of those duels, and in these foiling boats any loss of control is decisive. But by then Britannia had already been outmaneuvered in the first race, when Burling spotted an early wind change that left them well clear, and they were behind the starting line in the second race, when their rudder problem arose.
Great Britain suffered two major defeats to New Zealand in the America’s Cup on Friday
Sir Ben Ainslie is hopeful that Britain can respond to the setbacks
Ineos Britannia is now 6-2 on match point against Team New Zealand
“It wasn’t a good day for us,” Ainslie said. ‘Hats off to the Kiwis, they sailed two very, very strong races in that daring affair and just managed to get on the right side of both start lines and get that first team. They defended really well when we were ahead and put us in a bad spot.”
A difficult afternoon for Ainslie is complemented by Saturday’s forecast of gentle breezes and calm seas, which has so far favored the team they have to beat.
