- Sir Ben Ainslie's team retain the America’s Cup World Series overall lead after an exciting race in the South of France
- All Blacks legend and newly signed Global Ambassador, Dan Carter, joined British team as they cross the line in 3rd place at the America’s Cup event in Toulon
- British and Irish Lions star Leigh Halfpenny and renowned French chef Phillipe Etchebest were also in attendance over the weekend supporting Land Rover BAR
- Land Rover BAR team aims to bring home the world’s oldest sporting trophy to Britain for the first time in its 165‑year history
Monday 12th September 2016, Toulon: The world’s oldest sporting trophy is in touching distance for the British America’s Cup team, who increased their chances of bringing the cup home when Sir Ben Ainslie’s team sealed third place in the America’s Cup World Series in Toulon.
Land Rover BAR headed into the weekend at the top of the leaderboard, only one point clear of holders Oracle Team USA. As predicted, it was a tense and action‑packed event off the south coast of France ‑ the pressure was on for all the leading teams.
Sir Ben Ainslie and his team welcomed global rugby union icon Dan Carter and British and Irish Lions superstar Leigh Halfpenny onto the boat to sail as the team’s Sixth Man during racing. Carter raced with the team on Super Sunday and finished the event on the podium in 3rd position meaning the team are flying high in first place on the overall series leaderboard, 14 points ahead of Team Oracle USA.
Land Rover BAR welcomed back Rio Olympics gold medalist Giles Scott as Team Strategist.
With only one more World Series race to go for 2016 in Japan, the team is in a good position heading into the Finals in Bermuda next summer.
All credit to the team, it was a big improvement on Saturday and it needed to be for those double points on the Sunday. We would have liked to have got closer to winning – I think Artemis sailed really well – but to increase our lead in the World Series going into the final event in Japan in November is a big deal for our team.
There was slightly less emphasis on the tactical and strategic today, but there are still a lot of decisions to be made and Giles [Scott] really helped me out. We are going to go into the last event in Japan with a reasonable lead of 14 points. Oracle Team USA and Emirates Team New Zealand are our primary rivals, so I don't think we can take anything for granted. We are going to have to sail well to keep that lead, and that's what we are really focused on – getting those bonus points heading into the Cup next year.
We shouldn't forget that there is a lot going on back in Portsmouth. Our designers and boat builders are working extremely hard. This is a critical testing phase for us, so that will be the primary focus now. When we get closer to Japan, we will get our mind set right for racing again.
Ben Ainslie
Team Principal and Skipper
Sailing with the Land Rover BAR team was incredible, they were all apologising for the lack of wind and that the racing wouldn’t be as exciting as it could be, but I absolutely loved it. After a tough start getting that penalty hitting the Kiwis, they managed to find their way back into 3rd. I loved watching the team dynamics on board the boat and the lines of communication with the tactician. It was my first time and being with the Land Rover BAR team was a great adrenaline rush.
Dan Carter
Land Rover Ambassador
Toulon America’s Cup World Series weekend results:
- Artemis Racing ‑ 76
- SoftBank Team Japan ‑ 71
- Land Rover BAR ‑ 70
- Groupama Team France ‑ 68
- Emirates Team New Zealand ‑ 63
- ORACLE TEAM USA ‑ 57
Overall leader board results:
- Land Rover BAR ‑ 437
- ORACLE TEAM USA ‑ 423
- Emirates Team New Zealand ‑ 420
- SoftBank Team Japan ‑ 399
- Artemis Racing ‑ 391
- Groupama Team France ‑ 360
ENDS
