The Final of the Louis Vuitton Cup Challenger Series will take place from 26 Sep to 5 Oct between Ineos Britannia and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli.
The America’s Cup Challenger will be the first team to win seven races. With two races per day on Sep 26, 28, 29, Oct 1, 2, 4 and a decider if required on the 5 Oct.
This will be a replay of the 2021 Challenger Final in Auckland, with the Brits hoping for a better result this time round.
With their latest AC75 looking a vast improvement on the 2021 version, which suffered a 7 – 1 defeat at the hands of the Italian team’s superior boat speed and handling, especially in light wind conditions.
The latest Ineos Britannia has improved all-round ability and beat Luna Rossa in two final races to win the Round Robins, but the Italian’s looked to have the edge in the light winds that plagued the semi-final racing.
Once the breeze drops below 6 knots all the teams have struggled to stay on the foils, with a premium on flawless tacking and gybing, an area where Luna Rossa have seemed to have the advantage.
A new factor in the British team is the change to the established Ben Ainslie/Giles Scott helm combination, with Dylan Fletcher joining Ainslie, in a move introduced out of the blue for the Round Robins, while the Italians retain their long-term Francisco Bruni/Jimmy Spithill pairing.
The late change by the Brits possibly led to the uneven early performance, with a number of unforced errors and penalties, something that they will not be able to afford in this stage of the event.
Weather conditions will no doubt continue to play a critical role in the Final racing, with either team being handed unexpected wins or losses on the whim of the weather gods.
America’s Cup history is always a major chip on the shoulders of British teams and not just the original 1851 IOW race.
If they do win this challenger series, it will be their first actual America’s Cup Match since the 12-metre Sovereign in 1964.
Since 1970 there have been 15 of 17 America’s Cup events with multiple challengers, and Britain has never managed to win a challenger series to compete against the ‘Auld Mug’ defender!
In the last two America’s Cup matches the Brits arrived with what were immediately tagged design disasters, that has not been the case this time . . . But can they overcome this final hurdle and go all the way?
The America’s Cup Challenger Final starts on Thursday 26 September and continues until one team wins seven races.
The scheduled start time each day is 13:00hrs UK (14:00 CET). With two races per day on Sep 26, 28, 29, Oct 1, 2, 4 and a decider if required on the 5 Oct.
The winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup Final becomes the actual Challenger and will meet the Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand, in the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Match from 12 Oct 2024.
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