Inches and hard yards were fought for in Barcelona on Friday in a classic final race at the Louis Vuitton Cup, and when the dust settled from the on-water fireworks, it was INEOS Britannia that emerged as the top Challenger and secured their place in the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Match, where they will face the Defender Emirates Team New Zealand, with racing beginning on 12 October.
It is over 60 years since Great Britain had a yacht compete for the America’s Cup trophy in the final Match and what INEOS Britannia has achieved here, winning against the vastly experienced challenge of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, cannot be underestimated.
The final scoreline of 7-4 does not reflect just how close this 11-race duel between the top two Challengers really was. Over the first eight races there was nothing to separate the two yachts, but on the final two days of the series, INEOS Britannia found the boat positioning and speed to eke out the smallest of performance advantages that proved enough for them to win three straight races.
