Six foiling AC45F catamarans were on the course together for racing on Saturday. Ben Ainslie’s Land Rover BAR team won the shortened Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series Portsmouth event with a first and a second in Saturday’s racing. Winds over 30 knots and rough conditions caused Sunday’s racing to be abandoned.
Racing on their home waters and with more time in this type of boat than the other teams, Land Rover BAR showed sharp crew work and good tactics to win the opening race and then fight back from the middle of the pack to post a second in the day’s second race. Emirates Team New Zealand and new helmsman Peter Burling also looked impressive, winning the second race and coming in third in the first.
Results and Current Standings
- Land Rover BAR (1,2)
- Emirates Team New Zealand (3,1)
- Oracle Team USA ( 2,4)
- Groupama Team France (6,3)
- Softbank Team Japan (4,5)
- Artemis Racing (5,6)
Remember that points are totaled over two years, 2015-16 for the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series. At the end of the series, the top team carries two points into the double round robin of the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers. Any ties in the qualifiers will be broken by standings in the LVACWS. So this racing could determine which team earns a bonus point to start the America’s Cup Match and it could also determine whether a challenger makes it through to the semi-finals of the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Playoffs. I’ve summarized the competition format here.