America’s Cup: British and Americans miss second practice session

The British and American challengers were absent when the second round of official training was scheduled for Thursday in Auckland.

That left defenders of Emirates Team New Zealand and record challenger Luna Rossa to face off again, as the afternoon session was delayed by strong winds.

It is a blow for the British in particular as INEOS Team UK were unable to start the first practice session last Tuesday when they suffered damage in the run-up, it was thought to be a problem with their mast and they had to return to their base. in a painfully slow trailer.

While American Magic got off to a good start in that initial session, they did experience some late problems, believed to have been with the helm.

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Both unions closed their shed doors Thursday and ground crews worked overtime on repairs.

Their next target is the official practice races on Friday, but they might have doubts about that.

There are other practice races scheduled for Monday and Tuesday before the start of the World Series and the Christmas Cup Regatta on December 17-20.

They will be desperate to solve their problems with such limited opportunities to align these boats with each other after previous regattas in Italy and Britain were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The opening practice session showed how crews need to sharpen their game for racing action as they perform their starting routines against another boat for the first time.

Thursday’s practice session was again held in the Course E area across from the Bucklands Beach area.