A podium composed of the regulars of the race
Saturday, July 25th was the first day of racing in the Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series, in Portsmouth. And it was in these waters that Land Rover-BAR won. The British boat, four-time Olympic champion, is the great favorite of the 35 e America's Cup. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate Middleton, presented the official awards on July 26.
On Sunday July 26th, extreme winds forced the organizers to cancel the Sunday race. The results of Saturday's race were used to determine the winner of this preamble to the America's Cup.
"We are absolutely delighted to win the first Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series here in Portsmouth. It's a good start for us on our journey to the America's Cup. With the conditions we had yesterday and the boats on the water, the racing must have been incredible and spectacular from the TV screens. In all my sailing career, I have never seen anything like this â?" the amount of people that came out on the water, on the shore, to support the "home" team. It's a shame we couldn't race today, considering all the effort and support from the local fans here in Portsmouth. But it's the weather and we can't control it said Ben Aislie, skipper of the winning team.
Second on the podium was Emirates Team New Zealand, with newcomer Peter Burling at the helm, competing in his first America's Cup race. " For a 24 year old, what a great opportunity to come here! His skill level is really, really high. His speed, his quick action and decision making, are his trademarks and really suit him well." explained his boss, Glenn Ashby.
Oracle Team USA moves up to 3 e step of the podium. The race was great. We had good sailing out there. Lots of changes, six competitive teamsâ?¦ The level was really, really high. We are disappointed we didn't get to race today
said skipper Jimmy Spithill.
Newcomers at the back of the pack
Fourth place was won by Groupama Team France, whose skipper, Franck Cammas, took the fact that he was unable to race philosophically. "The sailing world depends on the wind. Too much or too little, there is no race. This is normal for us sailors. Today, there was clearly too much wind to race without risk. It was the right decision. But I am happy with what happened here. There were so many people watching and the organization was very successful for the first event on the circuit. I'm very confident for the future, we're looking forward to the future." said the French sailor.
It was great to be able to compete with others. At home, we train alone and when you sail alone, you are always the world champion. So we found the level here very high. It was not a surprise, but it was good to see, and very motivating to improve
continued Cammas.
Dean Barker's new team, SoftBank Team Japan, finished tied on points with the French, but fell to 5th place e place in the Tie-Break. " We wanted to race today, but it would have been impossible in these conditions. The AC45 foils are great. But we know we have a lot of work to do. This was just the first step in a long two-year program. Gothenburg next month will be a great opportunity to get back into the race. We will have different challenges in terms of racing, but it is up to us to adapt. We are excited to be racing in a month's time." barker explained.
The next Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series will take place in Gothenburg, from August 28 to 30. A way to make up for the Artemis Racing team, last in Portsmouth.
We are excited to be there to get the home cheer. We have had great enthusiasm at home in Sweden for the past two years. We are really looking forward to racing there
said skipper Nathan Outteridge.
Results of the Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series in Portsmouth :
- Land Rover-BAR - 19 points
- Emirates Team New Zealand - 18 points
- Oracle Team USA - 16 points
- Team Groupama France - 13 points
- SoftBank Japan Team - by 13 points
- Artemis Racing - 11 points
