Ineos Britannia missed the chance to take a clear 2 point lead on Day 5 of the Louis Vuitton Cup Challenger Final.
In a dramatic first race Ineos Britannia were awarded the race (R7) after Luna Rossa nosedived after rounding gate 1, and had to retire with structural damage to the foredeck covers and jib track.
The nosedive was apparently caused by the “balance between the sails and foils” and no issue with the rudder.
This freebie gave the Brits a 4 – 3 lead and put massive pressure on the Italian team to repair the damage in time for Race 8.
Failure to make the start would give Ben Ainslie’s team a 5 – 3 lead for the day, and put them in the driving seat to complete the seven race wins required to win the Challenger Series.
A massive effort by the Luna Rossa support team got them back together and ready for the start. But could the quick-fix hold-up for a full race in the strong wind conditions?
And here Ineos Britannia came to their rescue . . . Managing to collect an unforced, pre-start, boundry penalty giving Luna Rossa a 75 metre lead at the start, which they took with relish and quickly turned into 140 metres.
Really it was ‘game-over’ for Ainslie & Co as Luna Rossa rounded gate 1 with a 12 second lead.
Coming back from such a position is almost unheard off in this event, and so it was confirmed here, with the Italian team staying ahead, and importantly in one piece, to win by 16 seconds.
The Luna Rossa team could not believe their luck.
After what had looked like a possible major setback, with Ineos poised to take an event winning lead, they were off the hook and still all to play for.
Not the first time Ineos have made starting erros in this Louis Vuitton series, in ’21 they struggled with a hopeless design package, this time it is erratic handling at critical moments that is making hard work of getting the job done.
If Ineos Britannia fail to win the Challenger series, race 8 will have been the big missed opportunity.
Racing continues Wednesday.
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