The America's Cup: Patience and accuracy rewarded on day three of the Louis Vuitton Cup

Plenty of positives could be taken away from the other single-race winners on the day including NYYC American Magic, INEOS Britannia and Emirates Team New Zealand, but for Alinghi Red Bull Racing and Orient Express Racing Team, they both are looking up the leaderboard, knowing they are in a fight for survival.

It was especially tough for the Swiss, who suffered a third straight defeat in the Louis Vuitton Cup, falling off their foils in a haze of wing-wash thrown mercilessly down at the start of their race against INEOS Britannia who themselves survived a late fall off the foils on the final downwind leg, but managed to to recover to take the win. The British went on to succumb to a light-airs defeat against Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, where a foil fall was more costly.

Sir Ben Ainslie was upbeat after racing, saying: “We had a couple of good races there, a couple of really nice starts, we came off the foil in the first race which gave Alinghi Red Bull Racing a sniff of getting back into the race – pretty stressful moments – but we managed to get that point across-the-board. Then another nice start against the Italians, got the first cross but all the pressure came in from the left at the top of that beat and they got the cross, got the lead. It was reasonably close and we just had a gybe in light air, fell off the foil which was pretty painful and that was the end of the race. They did a nice job.”

The Swiss sit frustrated at the bottom of the standings of the Louis Vuitton Cup with the team eyeing time in the simulator to improve. Maxime Bachelin, port helm came ashore positive but realistic, saying: “Very tough today. Again, we didn’t manage to take a start, and we didn’t anticipate how big the bad air was between the boats, so very difficult, but it’s not over. We will keep pushing and we will work more on the mini-patterns in the simulator.”

Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli helmsmen Jimmy Spithill and Francesco Bruni sailed brilliantly today, and are proving to be a real force in the Louis Vuitton Cup, but their Flight Control team of Umberto Molineris and Andrea Tesei are gaining wide praise for their control. Spithill was especially complimentary saying: “I thought they were just really high-level today and didn’t make any mistakes. We need them to be that good because we’ve clearly pushed our foils and pushed the rudders and so that technique is super-important and today those guys really stood above.”

Spithill went on to comment about the potential still left within the Luna Rossa AC75 saying: “There’s a long way to go. We know there’s a bunch of stuff we’re still not doing correctly out there technique-wise – just how we are sailing the boat. The fact is that as you go through this race series, where it really counts, that’s when you get your biggest jump in development usually. So we’re just excited about the potential we’ve still got – because we are nowhere near where we need to be.”

NYYC American Magic went on to secure a point against Orient Express Racing after a very light airs race that saw both teams fighting to stay on the foils and some snakes and ladders on a tricky course. The Americans just executed better and, despite the race being too close to call at times with the French once again proved they have a fast design. Ultimately a poor layline call and gybe ended French hopes, and the win went to NYYC American Magic by a flattering margin.

The only other scoreboard chalk today was by Emirates Team New Zealand who came bouncing back to the racecourse in their impressively repaired ‘Taihoro.’ A race unopposed against the French, who retired before the start with mainsail issues, allowed the Kiwis to give their AC75 a full test at race pace. It passed with flying colours but there will be sterner tests ahead for sure, starting tomorrow.

Racing continues on Sunday at the conclusion of the opening Round Robin of the Louis Vuitton Cup with four races scheduled. The first race of the day will be the catch-up from today’s abandoned final race between Alinghi Red Bull Racing and Emirates Team New Zealand before the three final scheduled races of the Round Robin.

The pecking order is starting to become established but there is still all to play for as the first Round Robin comes to a conclusion and next week’s deciding second Round Robin begins. The harsh fact remains: one of these fine teams exits the competition a week on Sunday. Racing starts tomorrow at 14:00 CET – don’t miss it.

Text and images courtesy of The America’s Cup. To read the full release, please visit americascup.com.