Land Rover BAR finishes 2nd in Chicago Louis Vuitton America's World Cup Series

13 June 2016

Whitley 13th June 2016: The wind finally blew in Chicago as Land Rover BAR took 2nd place in the Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series weekend regatta, and grabbed 2nd place on the overall leaderboard from Oracle Team USA.

Land Rover BAR finish 2nd in Chicago, overtaking Oracle Team USA on the series leaderboard
Following a challenging first two days in Chicago, the windy city lived up to its name and Super Sunday saw wind speeds of up to 15 knots
The Team leave USA on a high as they head into the next round at the home of Land Rover BAR in Portsmouth on 22nd - 24th July 2016

Land Rover BAR depart the USA shores after a double header in Chicago and New York. The points awarded this weekend puts the team into a strong position ahead of next month's event in Portsmouth and are building their armoury to 'Bring the Cup Home' for the first time in the sport's 165-year history.

Chicago, the windy city, didn't live up to its name on the first day of official racing, with only 5 knots of wind and racing cancelled.

Super Sunday brought the promise of winds of up to 15 knots and created a highly anticipated and exciting day of racing. A win in race one saw them quickly cross the start line leaving the rest of the pack behind. The second race followed with a challenging start and well earned 4th place. In the final race they had to really pull it out of the bag making great decisions on the course strategy to get back up the fleet and across the line in 2nd place.

Ben Ainslie, Land Rover BAR Skipper and Team Principal, said: "What can I say, today was brilliant racing and it is great to showcase the sport this way and show how good it can be. The guys on board did an incredible job. In these conditions it's all about boat handling and the fitness required, I can't say enough about the boys and the great job they did today.

"We leave the US in a great position from the points gained today and are now set up to race in front of our home crowd in Portsmouth next month."

Last year, the Cup attracted over a quarter of a million people who arrived on the UK's coastal town to support the British team. Land Rover BAR are ready to welcome the America's Cup World Series regatta back to UK shores on 22nd - 24th July.

Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series weekend regatta results:

Artemis Racing - 61
Land Rover BAR - 58
Softbank Team Japan - 56
Emirates Team New Zealand - 51
Oracle Team USA - 49
Groupama Team France - 40

Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series overall results after six events:

Emirates Team New Zealand - 295
Land Rover BAR - 285
Oracle Team USA - 285
Artemis Racing - 262
Softbank Team Japan - 259
Groupama Team France - 234

ENDS

Further information

For further information log onto www.uk.media.landrover.com or contact:

Kim Palmer
Public Relations Manager, Land Rover UK
T: 02476 564 129
M: 07795 666 169
E: kpalmer@landrover.com

Tracey Tompsett
Senior Press Officer, Land Rover UK
T: 02476 565 210
M: 07469 032 064
E: ttompset@landrover.com

Rebecca Wright
Press Officer, Land Rover UK
T: 02476 566 334
M: 07469 025162
E: rwright7@landrover.com

Notes to Editors

Since 1948 Land Rover has been manufacturing authentic 4x4s that represent true breadth of capability across the model range. Discovery, Discovery Sport, Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Range Rover Evoque each define the world's 4x4 sectors. Land Rover products are currently sold in approximately 180 global markets.

About Land Rover BAR

Sarah Alexander, Land Rover BAR Press Officer
Sarah.alexander@landroverbar.com

t. +44 7766 391 276 / +44 1489 587 838

Ben Ainslie Racing (BAR) was launched on June 10th 2014 in the presence of Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge. The team was conceived by four times Olympic gold medalist and 34th America's Cup winner, Sir Ben Ainslie, with the long-term aim of challenging for Britain and bringing the America's Cup back home to where it all began in 1851. Ben has developed and will lead a British entry capable of winning the prestigious trophy, something Britain has so far never managed to achieve.

Land Rover BAR is a commercial sporting team, with a number of individual private investors alongside corporate partners. The team is made up of some of the best British and international sailors, designers, builders and racing support.

Sports teams represent key role models in society. This privileged position is not taken for granted at Land Rover BAR. The team believe our influence should extend far beyond the race course, and have put sustainability at the heart of operations since launching the team with Exclusive Sustainability Partner 11th Hour Racing in 2014.

The team have built a new headquarters in the centre of Portsmouth, the 74,000 sq ft. building houses all the team's activities, and will welcome the public into a Visitor Centre hosted by the 1851 Trust. The Trust is the team's official charity, and HRH The Duchess of Cambridge is its Royal Patron.

Portsmouth will host a second Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series event on 21st-24th July 2016. Almost a quarter of a million spectators enjoyed the action in Portsmouth in 2015, with 25,000 of them taking to the water - more are expected to come back in 2016 to watch the racing and cheer for the home team.

LandRoverBAR.com #BringTheCupHome

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13 June 2016