INEOS Britannia wins the Louis Vuitton Cup Round Robin Challenger Series!

INEOS defeated Orient Express Racing Team in a win by 71 seconds. According to news sources, Orient Express did their very best to come back into the race after a slow beginning. But there is more to this loss. It was the final blow. The team was eliminated.

Deflated after being eliminated from the Semifinals of the Louis Vuitton Cup, Quentin Delapierre, the skipper and sailing figurehead for the French team said, “I do think that what we built together with the sponsors and with the whole of the team is getting stronger and stronger, and for sure the ambition is to come back. But if we come back, we will need to come back stronger and faster.”

After France’s defeat Alinghi Red Bull took on the then leaders in the Cup, Luna Rossa with trepidation since they seemed so unbeatable. However, just before the start, Luna Rossa sailed outside the left boundary due to a technical difficulty and were disqualified by the Race Committee. The Swiss, meanwhile, started just fine and were immediately awarded the win!

This meant that now Luna Rossa and INEOS Britannia were tied in the standings at the top, requiring a race-off between the two.

It was a cautious dance and then INEOS started gaining on almost every leg of the course to take the win over Luna Rossa and secure the top standing!

Ahead of the sail-off race, Emirates Team New Zealand had defeated NYYC American Magic after they had a couple of falls of the foils and lost by an over 2 min margin.

The mood was quite sad as the group said good-bye to the French. American Magic skipper Tom Slingsby commented, “Hats off to them (the French), with the limited training and the limited budget, to be able to put together such a very competitive and impressive campaign.”

For the remaining four Challengers, the Louis Vuitton Cup now moves on to the semi-final stage. For INEOS Britannia, by finishing top amongst the Challengers, they now can select both their opponent and the side of entry for their first race. Who will they pick? The Italians, Americans or Swiss? In the upcoming Semi Finals battle, the first to win five races will secure a spot in the Louis Vuitton Cup Final.

Semi Final racing begins Sept 14, and all will be revealed the evening prior. Stay tuned!

Challenger Standings

INEOS Britannia 1 . Luna Rossa 2 . NYYC American Magic 3 . Alinghi Red Bull Racing 4

What’s next:

The Semi-finals start next Saturday, Sept 14 – Sept 19. The Final for the Louis Vuitton Cup runs Sept 26-Oct 7. The winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup is the first team to score seven points and will then face Emirates Team New Zealand in the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup. Racing starts at 2.00 pm (14:00 CEST) on race days

Photos/America’s Cup