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.
Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series Portsmouth – Results
1. Land Rover BAR (1,2)
2. Emirates Team New Zealand (3,1)
3. Oracle Team USA ( 2,4)
4. Groupama Team France (6,3)
5. Softbank Team Japan (4,5)
6. Artemis Racing (5,6)
Remember that these races count, and could even determine the winner of the America’s Cup Match in 2017! Standings in the LVACWS will be used to break ties at the end of the round robin series, and could determine which team begins the match with one point. More information on how the scoring works here.