It’s the night before the Louis Vuitton Cup semi-finals. As winners of the Luis Vuitton Cup Red Robins, the British get to choose their first racing opponent, their preference for entry and where in the lineup they wanted by the first dayt.

The four skippers left in the Louis Vuitton Cup attended the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, the revered stadium of the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, for a chilly early morning photoshoot. Tension was in the air ahead of the INEOS decision.

Sir Ben Ainslie confirmed that INEOS Britannia had selected Alinghi Red Bull Racing as their opponent in the first-to-five series. The British also selected starboard entry in their first encounter against the Swiss and chose the second start of the day. The British team’s decision was very much a signal of the belief in their momentum, built after topping the standings at the end of the Round Robin series.

Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, who had led comfortably overall in the standings before some extraordinary final day turnarounds, will race NYYC American Magic.

American Magic will be looking for a reset after their roller-coaster set of results through the Round Robins. And, after teammate Paul Goodison suffered rib fractures in the last race and will not be returning to the port helm just yet. “Unfortunately, he won’t be with us tomorrow. We are still taking it day by day for when he will return,” Slingsby said at a news conference (AP). “We all wish Goodie a quick recovery and we hope that we can still see him in this competition.”

In the interim, Olympic medalist and multiple World Champion Lucas Calabrese will helm Patriot. Lucas has been an integral part of their helmsman rotation for over two years, training extensively alongside the crew, and is fully prepared to take on this role, according to American Magic’s press release.

Racing starts on Sat, Sept 14 and is scheduled to continue through to Mon, Sept 16 , before the first planned Reserve Day on Tues, Sept 17, with two races planned for each semi-final per day.

With the series expected to be tight as all teams step forward in terms of technique and technology, the schedule allows for racing to run through to Thurs, Sept 19, plus there are a further four Reserve Days, if required, spanning Fri, Sept 20 to Mon Sept 23.

Featured Photo/Ian Roman

Challenger Standings

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

What’s next:

The Semi-finals start 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 five 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

 

September 13, 2024. Louis Vuitton Cup, Semi Finals: Press Conference. Arnaud Psarofaghis, ALINGHI RED BULL RACING, Ben Ainslie, INEOS BRITANNIA, Jimmy Spithill, LUNA ROSSA PRADA PIRELLI TEAM, Tom Slingsby, NYYC AMERICAN MAGIC

Tom Slingsby, helmsman NYYC American Magic