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Sir Ben Ainslie and INEOS TEAM UK are focused and ready for the fight with Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (Image credit: COR 36 | Studio Borlenghi)
Sir Ben Ainslie, team director and skipper of INEOS TEAM UK, reckons the PRADA Cup final will be a “fantastic fight” when INEOS TEAM UK and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli take to the water on Saturday.
The PRADA Cup is the winner-takes-all series between the last two challengers in New Zealand. The winner will face Emirates Team New Zealand in the 36th America’s Cup game in March, while the loser’s attempt to lift the Auld Mug comes to an end.
The America’s Cup was first contested in 1851, it is the oldest trophy in international sport and predates the modern Olympic Games by 45 years.
For a country with a rich maritime history, the Auld Cup is a missing piece of the puzzle for Britain because a British team has never won it.
In Ainslie’s words, it’s been 170 years of suffering and now INEOS TEAM UK has achieved what they hope will be the first of two business goals, in this year’s America’s Cup competition.
2:59 Learn more about INEOS TEAM UK’s bid to become the first UK team to win the America’s Cup
The PRADA Cup final begins with the first two days of racing Saturday and Sunday, live on Sky Sports from 3 a.m. and repeated at 8 a.m. This is a series of the first to seven wins.
The boats of both teams are filled with competitors who are at their peak and who know each other extremely well. For example, Giles Scott, INEOS TEAM UK tactician, was part of Luna Rossa’s squad in 2013, while Jimmy Spithill, now Luna Rossa’s co-helmsman, won the America’s Cup alongside Ainslie when ‘they were together at Oracle Team USA.
“It’s going to be a fantastic fight. That’s why you compete because you want to face the best; you want to challenge yourself and you want to be in these situations,” Ainslie said at the pre-race press conference. .
“I really expect us to have some amazing races over the next week.
“We saw it with the final race between the two teams, with nine lead changes and the boats being pretty even most of the time, that’s what you want. It’s great for the America’s Cup and for sailing.”
3:19 INEOS TEAM UK won the PRADA Cup round robin after an exceptional competition against Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team (Image credit – COR 36 | Studio Borlenghi)
After securing that dramatic victory that Ainslie refers to at the end of the PRADA Cup Round Robins, INEOS TEAM UK went straight into that final while Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli had to return to the water and face New York Yacht Club American Magic in the semi-finals. final.
Afterwards, Spithill made it clear that he believed their journey to this winner’s final outweighed ‘the best’. On the other hand, Ainslie said Sky Sports it was still the British team’s plan to try to be accelerated.
“We certainly thought it was [a more optimal route] we put a lot of effort into trying to get that straight route in the final. We have made a lot of changes to the boat which have been really positive, ”he said.
Races one and two will take place on Saturday, live on Sky Sports from 3 a.m. (Image credit – COR 36 | Studio Borlenghi)
“Again our team really focused on trying to get every ounce of performance out of the boat, as we know we have to do in this game,” added the team manager and skipper during the pre-race press conference on Thursday.
“So it’s been a tough time, especially for the team down, turning around, and then the last 10 days or so we got back on the water and trying to increase the intensity, to make sure that we are up to it. fit to compete. “
PRADA Cup Final – Opening weekend – Live on Sky Sports
| Saturday February 13 | Races one and two | Live on the Main Event and Sky Sports Mix | Coverage at 3 a.m. with repetition at 8 a.m. |
| Sunday February 14 | Races three and four | Live on the Main Event and Sky Sports Mix | Coverage at 3 a.m. with repetition at 8 a.m. |
The shore team to which Ainslie refers is about 100 people. While the work of modifying and optimizing the BRITANNIA racing boat is being kept up close, some of the logistical elements have been shared with Sky Sports and they really highlight the size and scale of this competition.
BRITANNIA is a 75 foot foiling monohull, it weighs around six to seven tons and constantly demands attention and refinement.
“It’s almost a 24 hour operation,” said Andrew ‘Hendo’ Henderson, INEOS TEAM UK shore team manager.
“We have a couple of teams with people starting very early in the morning to get the boat ready. Then when the BRITANNIA comes in after a long day of sailing there is another team that will pick her up and run with her to the the wee hours of the morning to prepare it again.
INEOS TEAM UK’s BRITANNIA racing boat is a remarkable feat of engineering (Image credit: COR 36 | Studio Borlenghi)
“On a [training] day, we could launch at 10 am, but there are guys here from 6 am doing all the checks; we have to make sure the boat is perfect before going out so as not to waste time on the water.
“The process of launching BRITANNIA alone takes about two hours. It was taken with a crane, lifted and then a whole series of sweeps are done before signing it.”
Of course, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli’s shore team have also worked hard as they seek to improve INEOS TEAM UK developments and get back to the water in an even stronger way than their rivals.
“Since we last raced them we have new foils, a new modified mast, a new set of sails and a lot of development on the software and systems of the boat,” said Max Sirena, skipper of the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team. .
“Then we made a lot of improvements in terms of on-board communication. We made a lot of mistakes when we ran against them. [last time] and we want to try to make one less mistake than them this time. “
Sirena continued to focus on his own team when asked if he fears INEOS TEAM UK ahead of this decisive series, while Ainslie clarified that this is not the outlook you take in a race.
“We’re not afraid of anything, you shouldn’t do if you’re going into a race. You respect your opponents, but you don’t fear them,” Ainslie said.
“We think they [Luna Rossa] are a great team. They have an excellent boat in a range of conditions; a great sailing team and we have already had some great races.
“We just expect more of this to happen; that’s what we want, they were competitive sailors. You want to race at the highest level against the best and that’s it.
“Of course we know they will be tough to beat, but we have prepared the team and the boat for this fight,” added Sirena of the British charge.
“The real enemy is us, it’s not actually INEOS or Ben, you have to navigate well against yourself first and then you will see the result.
“Both teams are going to be super ready and aggressive in the pre-starts, Ben, Jimmy and Francesco, are pretty strong in the pre-starts. It’s going to be fun to watch from the outside, probably a little less from the inside. , but it’s gonna be exciting. “
Watch every moment of the America’s Cup challenge, live on Sky Sports. Coverage continues with the PRADA Cup final at 3 a.m. on February 13, live on Sky Sports Mix, repeated again at 8 a.m.
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