Racing cancelled for INEOS Britannia on the first day of Louis Vuitton Cup Round Robin 2
by INEOS Britannia 3 Sep 19:38 BST
3 September 2024
It was a rainy day on the course on Louis Vuitton Cup Round Robin Day 5 © Cameron Gregory / INEOS Britannia
The first day of Round Robin 2 was cut short on Tuesday, after a lightning strike was seen just a few hundred metres down the racecourse during the second race of the day as Defender Emirates Team New Zealand took on Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (ITA).
INEOS Britannia, the British Challenger of Record racing for the Royal Yacht Squadron in the 37th America's Cup, was due to race NYYC American Magic in the third race of the day, which meant their race did not go ahead.
INEOS Britannia Team Principal and Skipper Ben Ainslie said: "It was a tricky old day with the weather coming in and storm clouds all over the place. The race committee did a good job getting a couple of races away. It was pretty full on out there with lightning coming down in that match between the Kiwis and the Italians. It was the right call to get the fleet in and come back and have another go tomorrow."
The two races that did take place before racing was suspended was Alinghi Red Bull Racing (SUI) v Orient Express Racing Team (FRA) v and Emirates Team New Zealand v Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (ITA). The Swiss v French race was a hotly anticipated battle, with them being the two teams currently at the bottom of the leaderboard. The Swiss took the lead at the start with an advantage of more than 240m. The French were desperately trying to claw their way back into the race but the gap was too big to close. It ended with Alinghi Red Bull Racing crossing the finish line 1min10secs ahead of Orient Express Racing Team to claim their first point.
The second race of the day featured the top two teams on the leaderboard, the Kiwis and the Italians. It was a super aggressive start by Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, powering over the Kiwis in the final seconds on the lead back-in before heading up hard on the starting line leaving no place to go for Emirates Team New Zealand other than into an immediate tack. The Italians led the race until a significant lightning strike was seen. Emirates Team New Zealand sailed outside the boundary immediately and was disqualified whilst the Race Committee cancelled all further racing for the day and awarded the race win to Luna Rossa.