September 14, 2024
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September 13, 2024. Louis Vuitton Cup, Semi Finals: AC75 Skippers photoshoot at the Olympic Stadium. Arnaud Psarofaghis, ALINGHI RED BULL RACING, Ben Ainslie, INEOS BRITANNIA, Jimmy Spithill, LUNA ROSSA PRADA PIRELLI TEAM, Tom Slingsby, NYYC AMERICAN MAGIC
The America's Cup: INEOS Britannia selects Alinghi Red Bull Racing for the Semi-Finals of the Louis Vuitton Cup
The rumour mill was silenced this morning at the Press Conference on the eve of the Louis Vuitton Cup semi-finals with confirmation by Sir Ben Ainslie that INEOS Britannia had selected Alinghi Red Bull Racing as their opponent in the first-to-five series. The British team 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.
The four skippers left in the Louis Vuitton Cup had attended the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, formerly known as the Estadi de Montjuïc, the revered stadium of the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992, for a chilly early-morning photo-call with tension in the air ahead of the INEOS Britannia decision.
For Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, the surprise runners-up in the overall standings having led comfortably before some extraordinary final day turnarounds, their opponent will be NYYC American Magic. The Americans meanwhile, will be looking for a reset after a roller-coaster set of results through the Round Robin stages.
Building vital consistency, especially into their manoeuvre execution will be absolutely critical but they face a super-tough challenge in the Italians who they have never beaten – neither in this tournament nor at the Louis Vuitton Preliminary Regatta.
Racing starts on Saturday September 14 and is scheduled to continue through to Monday 16 September, before the first planned Reserve Day on Tuesday September 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 Thursday September 19, plus there are a further four Reserve Days, if required, spanning Friday September 20 to Monday September 23.
The battle-lines are drawn now. This is the tough knock-out stage as the competition comes to a head. A place in the Final of the Louis Vuitton Cup, the gateway to a chance at challenging the Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand in the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Match in October, is on the line.
Text and images courtesy of The America’s Cup. To read the full release, visit americascup.com.