New Zealand win first two races against Great Britain in America’s Cup – live | America’s Cup

What next in the America’s Cup, then?

Well, we do it all over again tomorrow at the same venue, on the same track, with two more races – weather permitting, of course. Monday is a reserve day. But all being well the third race day should be Wednesday.

Theoretically, New Zealand could wrap the trophy up on Friday if they complete a clean sweep of races. 7-0 would be enough for them to retain the America’s Cup. Ben Ainslie and GB will be hoping to take it all the way until the final race day, which is Monday 21 October. There’s still time for things to swing back Britain’s way.

Here’s that New Zealand reaction:

Well, it’s not been the ideal start for the British boats today. Hannah Mills and the Athena Pathway team were edged out in the inaugural Women’s America’s Cup, which was won by Italy.

And Sir Ben Ainslie’s crew on board Ineos Britannia have come up against sailing’s answer to the All Blacks, Emirates Team New Zealand, who have just been a cut above so far, rarely making a mistake and seemingly having a bit more speed than the Brits.

It’s only day one, there’s a potential 11 further races to come, but it’s advantage New Zealand as it stands.

“An awesome effort by the whole group,” says New Zealand’s Peter Burling.

Time for his team to grab a deserved rest.

Sir Ben Ainslie isn’t too happy. “Credit to the Kiwis for two really good races,” he says. “We couldn’t quite match them around the track but we’re confident we can come back tomorrow and get some scores on the board.”

New Zealand win second race and lead 2-0

Leg 8: The British boat has closed the gap somewhat but it’s not going to be enough. 2-0 New Zealand incoming.

It’s started to get away from the chasers, Ineos Britannia, now, with Rob Wilson admitting the Brits are “waiting for a slip-up” from New Zealand.

The defending champions have never really looked like making a mistake in the past couple of legs. Leg 8 to come.

Leg 6: It’s been a matter of metres and seconds separating the two yachts in this race, but New Zealand appear to be opening up a healthy gap now. They’ve got the wind pressure, which can be vital.

There’s eight legs in this second race, by the way. At the halfway mark, it’s still very close with Ineos Britannia cutting New Zealand’s lead.

Time for leg 5.

Leg 4: 1-0 down will be a familiar scoreline for Ineos and Sir Jim Ratcliffe given their football interests of late… but this is a performance in the second race so far that is full of character and perseverance – everything Manchester United are currently lacking.

Sorry, I had to get at least one United reference in there. New Zealand hold a slender advantage.

Leg 3: You cannot take your eyes off this race. It’s a far more competitive, close and exciting affair than the one-sided opener. Team New Zealand suddenly find themselves in a contest.

Leg 2: Ineos Britannia continues to look rapid downwind – the British team loves the wind in its sails, as the organisers slightly shorten the course for this second leg. It’s still too close to call.

It’s absolutely neck-and-neck as the two teams cross paths – narrowly missing each other – a couple of times before they complete this first leg.

Team New Zealand are just 30m in front. Eeesh.

Leg 1: Team New Zealand slightly had the better of that pre-start exchange but the British team started quickly. “Steady!” is the shout from the Kiwis, who are 40m back at the moment.

The battle for position at the start was a colossal one – and so fascinating to watch. With the wind picking up, the two high-octane AC75 boats found had some tacking to do, with Ineos Britannia looking pretty good at this stage, it must be said, trying to lock out the Kiwi boat at the start line.

Leg 1 is go.

Ben Ainslie was coy on the problems Ineos Britannia had at the outset of the first race. It was a battery issue, we know that. We also know how vital the start of each race is in the America’s Cup.

The race organisers have given the shout for both teams to set sail, quite literally, on the second race of a possible 13. Pre-start position may prove key.

Right, we’re not far off that second race now. The wind looks a lot healthier off the coast of Port Vell, Barcelona than it was earlier. The British team will have reflected on that opening defeat and will want to come out firing on all cylinders.

We’re now waiting for race two in the battle between Great Britain and New Zealand in the men’s competition.

I’ll take a short break now until that race is nearly upon us.

“Massively well done to the Italian team,” says GB’s Hannah Mills. “I’m super proud of all the competitors.

“It’s been a long and amazing campaign, we’ve put so much into this. Thanks to our friends at Ineos Britannia, too, who have helped us on this journey. I’m so proud to be part of this first ever women’s event.”

Italy win Women’s America’s Cup

Into the final leg. Remember this is a winner-takes-all final race – there will be no more opportunities. The first ever Women’s America’s Cup is coming to a conclusion.

Italy are still in the ascendancy.

The British yacht is gaining on the leaders, metre-by-metre. This is so, so tight. The gap is less than 100m as we prepare for the final two legs.

We’re into leg four of this Women’s America’s Cup final and Italy still have the advantage. Both crews are working hard under darkening skies in Barcelona.

The Italians hold a very narrow lead at this stage, but the Athena Pathway, AKA British, team are not far away. This is much tighter than the opening race of the men’s event, currently in the second of six legs.

Women’s Americas Cup: Britain and Italy contest the inaugural Women’s America’s Cup final today in Barcelona too, with Hannah Mills leading the Athena Pathway team.

There’s history all over the place today. We’ll bring you reaction to that America’s Cup first race and updates from the women’s event.

An advantage of 420 metres (and 41 seconds) amounts to a pretty stonking win for New Zealand in that opening race. They’re a virtually unstoppable machine on the waves.

Sir Ben Ainslie admitted Ineos Britannia didn’t get a great start to the race but is full of praise for Emirates Team New Zealand.

He says the British team will evaluate their performance and “keep pushing” later today and in the races to come next week.

New Zealand skipper Peter Burling: “Always a bit nervous sitting and waiting for the wind at the start, and it wasn’t straightforward, but we managed to stay in control.

Nathan Outteridge: “It was quite a dynamic race but it was good to get a clear start. Very happy to get the win in the first race. This is what we’ve been working three years for.”

New Zealand win first race of America’s Cup

Final leg: The wind is dropping somewhat, with Britain struggling to tack in the dirty air. This looks to be done.

Rob Wilson on the Ineos Britannia boat admits the British team “had a few issues with the batteries” [needed to work the foils] early on, which put them on the back foot immediately. He believes his team are ‘“edging in there, but the Kiwis are making it tough – they’ve got their elbows out and it’s hard to get around them”.

The gap is now at around 350m.

It’s fascinating just to listen to the comms from both crews as they negotiate the wind and the seas in perfect harmony.

We’re into the final two legs of this opening race now, with New Zealand still holding a comfortable lead. Remember first to seven race wins will take home the America’s Cup.

Leg 4: The defenders are defending supremely, with New Zealand especially expert upwind, holding off the British boat. This race might be getting out of reach for Sir Ben Ainslie’s team – unless they pull off something miraculous.

Leg 3: The Team New Zealand boat is still riding well above the waves and the lead is extending again. It’s up past the 300m mark.

It’s been a great second leg downwind for the British team as both teams manoeuvre and turn back upwind. Team New Zealand are still holding strong, mind.

Into the third leg now.

Leg 2: Ineos Britannia is picking up speed, taking a different route to Team New Zealand, whose lead is being cut slightly in the past few moments. Looks like the Brits are getting more wind pressure now.

Leg 1: Team New Zealand have an advantage of around 100m, which they are holding, thanks to the breeze coming in from the left of both boats. It’s out towards 200m now.

The organisers are lengthening the course, which is a good sign re the wind, which is getting stronger all the time now.

We’re under way

“The wind is building,” say the race organisers. The projected start time is now 1.50pm, UK time.

This must be agony for the two teams, who are still primed and ready. It’s a game of patience.

A potential start time of 1.40pm has been pushed back a little further until 1.45pm as the wind limit hasn’t been reached – it needs to average 6.5 knots.

The fans’ village in Barcelona is packed with Union Jacks; the British fans are out in force on this historic occasion. Gah, hopefully this doesn’t take too long.

British sailing fans have waited 60 years for the chance to compete for the America’s Cup.

Unfortunately the weather in Barcelona means that wait is going on a little longer right now.

The British crew are “fired up” and keen to get racing, says Ineos coach Rob Wilson. It must be infuriating to just sit there in the boat waiting to get going. Team New Zealand say they are “optimistic” that we’ll get some sailing today.

Waiting for the breeze, eh.

Start delayed due to lack of wind

“Starts are always key in match racing,” Sir Ben tells Georgie Thompson on TNT Sports.

“We expect the Kiwis to be feisty in the pre-start. Then it’s about evaluating the performance of the two boats and it’s the first to win seven.

“We’ve got a very proud sporting and maritime heritage in Britain and we want to right that wrong. At the same time, we don’t want to switch anything up massively, we can go all the way. There’s a lot of noise but many of us have been through similar situations in the past.”

Please do get in touch on email – as Jeremy Boyce has just done:

“Hi Dom,” he says. “Looking forward to some great racing today on these new super-tech boats. I have a friend working on a big yacht who is there and she sent some great videos of the LV challenger series. It’s incredible what technical advancement can achieve, in terms of speeds especially, but [Ben] Ainslie expressed it well in his interview saying that it had all become very push-button now, rather than hands on ropes.

“The tech is very impressive, including the real-time tech support in-race, but the thing is, they’re not really sail boats anymore, are they?”

Alas, no, Jeremy, I think foil boats and high-tech sailing are here to stay.

As Jeremy adds: “You’re not actually sitting on the water, navigating the contours, you’re flying above it. And if you are actually on the water for a few seconds it may well cost you the race.”

A message from the main man:

A slight adjustment to my earlier post: the first race will commence at 1.15pm BST, which is 2.15pm local time (CET) in Barcelona.

The stage (sea) is set.

It’s only the 37th edition of the America’s Cup, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a sporting trophy with a greater, richer history. The first ever competition in 1851 was won by the only American ship in the field, hence its swift name change.

Some of these pictures are superb.

Other than a little bit of rain in the air, conditions are looking good for sailing.

Ben Ainslie: It’s a really proud moment for us. We’ve been going for 10 years to get ourselves into this final, so what an opportunity this is. We’re going to give it everything we’ve got.

Why?. It speaks for itself doesn’t it? Britain is a very proud sporting nation, and has a very proud maritime history, and this Cup is the one thing that’s missing. That’s why. The fact that Britain has never won the America’s Cup is what drives us.

Andy Bull reports from Barcelona.

This part of Yara’s explainer is particularly helpful to newcomers to the America’s Cup:

How does it work?

Teams must first compete in a series of regattas, culminating in the Louis Vuitton Cup, which determines the main event’s challenger. This year’s matchup will see Team New Zealand as the defender take on Ineos Britannia after the Britons won the right to challenge New Zealand by beating Italy’s Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli comfortably in the decisive race. The current format features a best of 13 series; the first to win seven races takes home the Cup. This year’s edition begins with the first two races on 12 October. After that, the third and fourth races are set for 13 October. Subsequent races will occur on 16 October for the fifth and sixth races and on 18 October for the seventh. If necessary, the eighth race will be held on 18 October, the ninth and 10th on 19 October, the 11th and 12th on 20 October. The final race, if required, will take place on 21 October.

Preamble