Key events
And Ben Ainslie’s assessment:
They managed to pick the right side both times. We take that on the chin and it is not over until it over.
We had a little bit of an issue but I think it came down to the first shifts, to be honest. Tomorrow is another day.
Pete Burling after the two wins:
It was nice to bounce back from a few mistakes the other day and put a couple of solid races on the board. Obviously completely different conditions to anything we’ve raced in so far and it was just awesome.
His co-captain adds that because the wind was so dynamic, they wanted to get the two early starts.
Team New Zealand win race eight and now lead 6-2
The last two legs were just a continued masterclass from New Zealand. They nearly doubled their lead by shifting slightly to take advantage of the wind.
Some applause from the boss but they still know that they have work to do. They are one win away from retaining the America’s Cup.
You can hear the disappointment in Ben Ainslie’s voice but he reminds his team it is not over yet.
Leg 6 of 8: Ineos Britannia are chasing, they speed into the final turn of the course. Rob Wilson, their coach, says: “Keep pushing for this one and hope they make a mistake. The issue is the shifts, once you get ahead, are pretty clear in the water.
“We’ve had three moments with the rudder this race. We think we hit something and I suspect there is a little bit of front edge damage.”
Leg 5 of 8: To be fair to Ineos Britannia, the conditions are not kind to them and they are once again stuck on the side that they don’t want to be on. The cruelty of this sport is that there is not much you can do to fix your situation once you start on the wrong foot. Especially if you’re opponent is as good as New Zealand.
Leg 4 of 8: New Zealand lead on average speed (38.0kn v 36.7kn) and are halfway done. You can hear on the comms that they keep talking about staying in certain “lanes” to avoid any surprises.
Leg 3 of 8: Ineos Britannia finish 41sec behind their opponents. They have once again failed to find the wind advantage.
Leg 2 of 8: New Zealand are just so smooth, they are keeping pace, avoiding the choppy waters and are staying calm. Ineos Britannia have recovered from the early mishap but they haven’t made up the time. I wonder if we will see them attempt something out of the ordinary to try and cut the lead.
Leg 1 of 8: Nervy start here. Ineos Britannia is sticking to the right side but gets pushed to the left when they skid on choppy waters and break at the cross. They had no choice but they find themselves over 100m behind from the get go. The Kiwis, on the other hand, start well and finish the first leg with ease.
Team New Zealand took their time in choosing their sail size for this race but now both teams are heading towards the start line. Weather is still good to get started on time. This race will have eight legs instead of six.
Race eight will start at 2.15pm BST. Tomorrow, two more races are scheduled, if both are needed, and another two on Sunday, again if needed.
In race seven, New Zealand’s top speed was 48.6kn compared to the Brits’ 48.7kn but their average speed, upwind speed and downwind speed was higher and what ultimately led them to their win.
Peter Burling, the New Zealand captain says: “Obviously a completely different day so requires a differnrt thing. Nice to get out in the breeze. Really shifty dynamics so nice to get the first one right and sail away from that.”
Nathan Outteridge adds: “Super dynamic day. We just got this gust-lull situation where one minute you got eight knots and the next you got 13 or 14. We were pretty switched on to what was happening.”
And Ben Ainslie says: “Tough race for us. the breeze just kicked hard on the right and they did a nice job defending us.”
Ineos Britannia cross the finish line 1:13 after the Defenders.
Team New Zealand win race seven and now lead 5-2
The last thing Ineos Britannia wanted to see when they were finishing leg five was their opponents barrelling towards the finish but here we are.
Leg 5 of 6: New Zealand continue to protect the right side of the race – they have the pick of the wind and there is nothing really their opponents can do about it. At this point, they are about 750m behind when the Defenders cross the top gate.
Leg 4 of 6: The Defender’s boat looks completely different than a few days – a lot more stable. The Brits wait for them to make a mistake. Earlier, Team New Zealand’s Ray Davies said: “We seem to have managed to get more performance out of the boat after lots of data analysis.” They lead Ineos Britannia in average speed, average VMG (velocity made good) and manoeuvres.
Leg 3 of 6: So many potholes on the course but New Zealand are still maintaining that they want to stay on the left side. Their top speed is 40km/hr and they have a healthy lead. The Brits finish 24sec behind and you can sense their frustration in their communication.
Leg 2 of 6: This New Zealand team are so good. They have seemingly learned their lesson from the last two races and they team are constantly communicating on board and emphasising that they do not want to play catch up. They once again lead after the second leg and their opponents 13secs behind.
Leg 1 of 6: Team NZ figure out really quickly that the left hand side is where they will get the most advantage with the wind. The Britons opt for a turn towards the right in their racecourse which proves costly and the Defenders get a massive lead early on.
NZ finish in 3:54 and Ineos Britannia make the turn 12sec later.
But we know the Challengers are quick down wind. Can they catch up?
Here we go! Wind sampling is complete and we will be finding out which team has nerves of steel in this crucial race!
We are minutes away from the expected start of race seven and seeing if Ineos Britannia can continue the good form. Take a look here on how the British comeback began in race five.
Another email! This one from Craig.
Is the number of races fixed and whoever wins most of those wins, with the possibility that there could be drawn races? Basically, will they keep going until someone wins 7 or is it the most wins from a fixed number?
It would likely help if the preamble did not have a slight error which has now been fixed, but it is a first to seven system with one point for each race won. The first team to score seven points are the winners of the America’s Cup and become the Defender of the 38th edition.
Here is a handy guide – perfect for all beginners – that explains all the nuances.
This morning in Barcelona the winds were blowing from the north-west and are expected to die down a bit before the start of the race.
Sea state should decrease slightly during the day, and in the afternoon waves of 0.8m are expected to come from the south at 5-second intervals.
The waves are not aligned with the wind, which could make tricky sailing conditions.
Temperatures are lower with a maximum of 20°C.
Our first email of the day comes from Jeremy
Love ‘em or hate ‘em (that’s my case), when it all goes well these foil boats go extremely fast and are exciting to watch. Today is totally “Squeaky-bum time” for Ainslie’s crew, lose just one and NZ are within a day of retaining their crown, lose both and it’s as good as done. I’m wondering if Sir Jim hasn’t taken the opportunity to invite Lord Ferg for a freebie in Barcelona, as compensation for axing his Manchester United ambassador job/salary, and see if he can’t help galvanise the team performance with one of his famous “teacup” talks? What are the wind/water conditions like today?
You’re so right, lots riding on today. Huge pressure on Ainslie and his crew to back up their performances from races five and six. There is also a bit of history on the line here: Ineos Britannia will be the most successful British challenger if they win one more race. I will also be keeping my eyes peeled for any Jim Ratcliffe and/or Alex Ferguson sightings.
And in terms of the weather …
Let’s take a quick look back as to how we’ve ended up here.
Technical issues hampered Ineos Britannia’s boat in the first two races, giving the Kiwi’s two comfortable victories.
They were then hit with a penalty that hindered them in race three …
And despite a fast start in the fourth race, they could not keep up the momentum.
But the New Zealanders suffered in the last two races after finding themselves unprepared by the altered sea state.
Preamble
A week ago, race seven of the 2024 America’s Cup looked like a mere formality but not anymore. After Team New Zealand took a 4-0 lead Ineos Britannia cut it down to only two. The two wins were the first for a Great Britain team in 90 years and six days.
But the celebrations can’t be too premature. Ben Ainslie and his crew know that there is no margin for error in this best-of-13 if they want their names in the history books. Today’s races provide an opportunity to tie things up. Will Ineos Britannia do just that or will it slip from their fingers.
Start time is scheduled for 1.10pm BST in Barcelona. Let’s get to sailing.
