Land Rover BAR set in New York, New York!

NY Stock Exchange closing bell © Lloyd Images

The 2016 Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series (ACWS) resumes in New York with the second event of the season. Land Rover BAR lie in third place after winning the first event in Oman back in February – the only team to have won two ACWS events in this Cup cycle. The team are just one point behind Oracle Team USA and seven points behind Emirates Team New Zealand.

New York has a long history and association with the Cup, it was home to America's Cup racing until 1920, the year that the Brits came closest to winning. Sir Thomas Lipton led 2-0 before eventually being beaten 3-2. The weekend also marks Ben Ainslie's return to racing in the States for the first time since victory in the 34th America's Cup in San Francisco. Of course, this time, he will be challenging Jimmy Spithill for the trophy rather than helping him to defend it.

The Land Rover BAR crew will continue the process of rotation that was so successful in Oman. Giles Scott is now focusing on his Finn campaign for the 2016 Olympics in Rio this summer. Coming onto the boat will be the former 49er sailor Ed Powys, making his ACWS debut.

Closing of the New York Stock Exchange - photo © Lloyd Images

Thoughts ahead of the racing

Ben Ainslie, Skipper and Team Principal: "We got the win in Oman, but this is a very different place, a very different venue and expected conditions, so it's a different challenge for all of the teams. We've had to think about the right approach to this event as a team. We've been preparing hard for that and we're excited to be racing in as iconic a location as New York."

Jono Macbeth, Sailing Team Manager: "In Oman we did some crew rotations and had a very successful regatta, and I think that really showed how strong our sailing team is in depth. Looking forward to New York, we've lost Giles Scott due to his Olympic campaign, and this will be the first regatta that he has missed. It will give us another chance to do some rotations, and show the depth of the sailing team across a lot of different areas. We've got young Ed Powys coming in, one of the newest members of our team, and he's been doing an absolutely fantastic job in training. We are super excited to get him out there. He brings a new exuberance and excitement to the team.

"But I don't think any team is under any illusions about how difficult the race track in New York is going to be. And looking ahead to the forecast, we are going to get a breeze out of just about every quarter at different strengths and tendencies. We are hoping to carry on with the momentum we had out of Oman, but at the same time it is going to be a very testing race course for the sailors and a tricky weekend."

David 'Freddie' Carr, Runner: "They call it the river that flows both ways, by which they mean that it's a tidal river, so that will be a big thing to take into account for us. We sail in tidal current at home, but we will need to key into the eddies along the shore, particularly on the Manhattan side. And of course there are all these 500m skyscrapers in the way of the wind as well; on these urban race courses the breeze can touch down at any point. So we have to keep our heads out of the boat, there won't be a single lap or manoeuvre that's the same, it will change every time. The weather looks all right though; 6 to 10 knots on Saturday, and Sunday looks great with 10-16 knots, so we'll race both days for sure."

All the action - in the UK and Ireland - can be watched live on BT Sport, with Saturday's racing beginning at 18:30 on BT Sport 2; then Sunday's racing is live on BT Sport 1 also beginning at 18:30. Both BT Sport 1 and 2 will run replays of the racing throughout the weekend.

Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series Leaderboard: (after four events)

1. Emirates Team New Zealand 192pts
2. ORACLE TEAM USA 186pts
3. Land Rover BAR 185pts
4. SoftBank Team Japan 161pts
5. Artemis Racing 161pts
6. Groupama Team France 150pts

Land Rover BAR New York line up:

Ben Ainslie - Skipper and Team Principal
Paul Campbell-James - Wing Trimmer
David 'Freddie' Carr - Floater
Nick Hutton - Trimmer
Ed Powys - Bow
Matt Cornwell - Bow
Jono Macbeth - Sailing Team Manager
Jo Lees - Boat Captain
Ian Pattison - Shore support
James Chapman – Rib driver and Shore support
Ian Boag - Shore support
Ben Williams - Lead Strength and Conditioning Coach / Safety support
Rob Wilson - Coach
Luc du Bois - Analysis