Race four abandoned after New Zealand breeze into 3-0 lead in America’s Cup
Wind dropped below acceptable level, leading to the race being put back to Monday
Barcelona: Dead calm fell off the coast of Barcelona Sunday causing race four to be put back a day after defending champions New Zealand breezed into a 3-0 lead in the best of 13 America’s Cup.
With Emirates Team New Zealand and British challenger Ineos Britannia waiting on the start line for the day’s second race, the wind dropped below the acceptable level for racing, leading to the race being put back to Monday.
Ben Ainslie’s Ineos Britannia were already staring down the barrel after being slapped with a start line penalty ahead of the third race with a healthy breeze blowing earlier Sunday.
With no wind to speak of on Saturday the foil craft raced with their hulls in the water, but Sunday’s race three saw the new technology come into play with enough wind in the sails to see the huge yachts spectacularly lifted right out of the water.
The skippers were facing up at the start when a risky pre-race manoeuvre earned Ainslie a costly 75-metre penalty as the two multi-million dollar state of the art craft came within a metre of collision, putting their asset in severe jeopardy.
“It was close, I thought it was okay,” said Ainslee. “The umpires didn’t see it that way.”
“I was a bit uncomfortable with how close that was,” said Kiwi skipper Peter Burling.
Ineos were beaten by around 50 seconds and are now just four races away from defeat.
With weather conditions optimal for overtaking off the coast of Catalan capital Barcelona, the British craft trailed for the entirety of the race.
The Kiwis burst into action on Saturday with two clear wins on an almost windless day.
Fans have flooded into Barcelona and were able to observe the rectangular course just offshore from the Barcelona old port, and visible from the Barceloneta beach.
Ineos Britannia, bankrolled by Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe, is bidding to become the first British winner in the 173-year history of the America’s Cup after coming through the Louis Vuitton challenger series, beating the Italian boat Luna Rossa last week.
The Kiwis are the double defending champions and they had the luxury of sitting and waiting to see who emerged as their challenger in Barcelona.