“Also, credit to Alinghi. They sailed a great first race and pushed us hard in the second race. It’s obviously hard on them to not make it through this stage. They’re a great team.
“I think we’re all very relieved to have got through today and survived and made it through to the final, because in this stuff anything could happen.”
The Brits now await their opponent for the final of the challenger series, with American Magic winning both of their races against Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli to bring their semifinal series to 4-3 in favour of the Italians.
The Italians suffered a gear failure in their second race of the day, with the traveller track on their AC75 breaking with a loud bang and forcing them out of the contest. At the time of the incident, the Italians were winning and looked well-positioned to consolidate their lead late in what had been a razor-thin contest to that point.
Their shore team will now be working around the clock to repair the damage before tomorrow’s action, with that semifinal to be settled – should the weather play ball.
“We’ve got a lot of faith in our shore team,” Luna Rossa starboard helmsman Jimmy Spithill said.
“They’re definitely one of the best in the business. We have to wait until we get back to shore, but there’s no doubt our boys will pull out every stop we need to get us back out there.”
Results
Alinghi Red Bull Racing (Switzerland) beat Ineos Britannia (UK) by 1m23s
American Magic (United States) beat Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (Italy) by disqualification
Ineos Britannia beat Alinghi Red Bull Racing by 1m10s
Ineos Britannia eliminate Alinghi Red Bull Racing 5-2; Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli lead American Magic 4-3
Team NZ hit the halfway mark
Team NZ’s youth team have hit the halfway point of the first stage of the Youth America’s Cup regatta, with Group A completing another two races last night.
With the Youth America’s Cup comprised of 12 teams, the entries have been split into two groups – America’s Cup teams in one, invited nations in the other – with each completing eight fleet races before the top three move into the knockout stages.
Now through four races, Team NZ have work to do if they are to be involved in the next stage of the Youth America’s Cup, currently sitting fourth in their group.
It was another mixed day for the New Zealand crew, with a big splashdown in race four providing costly as they came away with a third and a fourth from the day’s two contests – the same results they posted on day one.
Italian crew Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli look like the team to beat as they again excelled and hold a comfortable lead atop the standings.
On day two, the two outings only featured four teams, with the French and Americans not racing. The French are yet to complete a race in the Youth America’s Cup after issues with their boat saw them ruled out of day one as well.
Youth America’s Cup Group A standings
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli 37
American Magic 25
Athena Pathway (UK) 22
Team NZ 16
Orient Express-L’Oreal Racing Team (France) 16
Alinghi Red Bull Racing 14
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.