For the 7th e the six teams competing in the Americaâ??s Cup preliminary round were gathered in Portsmouth, at the southern tip of England. The day of Saturday, July 23, which included 3 races, favored the French âeuros Groupama Team France âeuros more at ease in light airs. With a place of first, fourth and second, the French team finished in 2nd place e place in the provisional ranking, equal on points with the Land Rover BAR team, leader on this first day of racing on its home ground. Softbank Team Japan took the 3rd place e place of the podium.
After a slow start, Oracle Team USA finished 4th e just ahead of Artemis Racing and Emirates Team New Zealand in sixth place e place, with their new helmsman Glenn Ashby.
Sunday was a little more rhythmic with a stronger wind of 13-15 knots. Conditions in which the French are less comfortable as the three races of this day counted double. Thus, Groupama Team France finished twice in last place and once in 5th place e position.
"Obviously, our approach strategy on the starting phases was clearly not the right one" said Franck Cammas on his arrival on land. "We did not have the right vision unlike what we achieved yesterday. The spaces in which we could position ourselves were closing. But if we don't start off on the right foot, we're bound to fall behind the others. And for the moment, we still don't have the capacity to go back up the fleet after a bad start.â [âeuros¦] Downwind, with Groupama Team France, we were doing pretty well. The culls and gibs went well, whereas before, these phases were a bit complicated for us. We are progressing little by little. We still lack experience on this type of support. We are going to take control of our AC Test Class and sail on a boat similar to the AC45 Series. This will help us to progress faster
Victory for Land Rover BAR
Thanks to their 2 e ben Ainslie and his Land Rover-BAR crew took the Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series Portsmouth victory on the final day of racing. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were on hand to cheer on the national team and present the final prize, bringing the weekend to a fitting conclusion in true English fashion.
"I think it was a brilliant weekend. For us to sail in Portsmouth in front of the English crowd with the weather to match was great. And to win on home soil was the best we could do." said Sir Ben Ainslie, skipper of Land Rover BAR.
In the overall ranking of the Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series, the British are one point ahead of the Americans from Oracle Team USA and 10 points ahead of the New Zealanders, who have lost their leadership. Fifth in the British leg, the French challenge closes the overall ranking of the preliminary circuit.
General ranking LVACWS Portsmouth
Land Rover BAR - Ben Ainslie - 82 points
Oracle Team USA âeuros James Spithill - 81 points
SoftBank Team Japan - Dean Barker - 69 points
Emirates Team New-Zealand - Glenn Ashby - 62 points
Groupama Team France - Franck Cammas âeuros 58 points
Artemis Racing - Francesco Bruni âeuros 53 points
Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series Overall Standings
Land Rover BAR - 367 points
Oracle Team USA - 366 points
Emirates Team New-Zealand - 357 points
SoftBank Team Japan - 328 points
Artemis Racing - 315 points
Groupama Team France - 292 points
