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Ricky Wilson / Stuff
Mechanical problems affected Sir Ben Ainslie’s INEOS Team UK in race three against Luna Rossa.
British captain Sir Ben Ainslie has put the root of his troubles at the New Zealand team’s door and demanded that the supplied aluminum cantilever system plaguing his America’s Cup campaign be fixed, fearing there will be bigger consequences than his two lost races on Thursday.
One day at the official races and controversy quickly erupted as massively funded British competitors continued their fragile time in the waters off Auckland.
INEOS Team UK crossed the line limping more than five minutes behind American Magic in their inaugural World Series race and Christmas Cup regatta. The British then retreated early against Luna Rossa when the system failed them twice.
TVNZ
The INEOS Team UK team receives a shower of water as problems arise against American Magic.
The mechanism lowers and raises the heavy blade arms. It is a unique design feature produced by Team New Zealand, as designers of the class rule of these highly technical boats, and supplied to all teams.
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Ainslie said they had had problems before leaving the dock on Thursday. They quickly resurfaced in the water. Engineers had managed to “fix it halfway”, but the system failed twice in the heat of battle, the second time from a battery failure that left their ship adrift out of control.
Ainslie wants the New Zealand team to hand over the operation of that system to try to fix a problem that his two fellow rivals confirmed they were also struggling with.
“It’s a bit broader issue,” a disgruntled Ainslie said at the press conference late in the race.
Ricky Wilson / Stuff
Sir Ben Ainslie’s crew dealt with mechanical issues that led them to retire from their career with Prada’s Luna Rossa in Auckland on Thursday.
“It has been a problem from day one of this class. All the teams have been working together to try to solve it, but it is not solved yet.
“It’s certainly not our fault, this is supplied equipment and you can’t spend the amount of time and energy you do with these campaigns and lose two races. It’s not very nice.
“It would be much worse if it happened in the Challenger series or in the Cup … I think it would be a shame if that decided the series.”
He appealed to authorities to solve it, comparing it to the aluminum arm problems of two years ago. That issue involved a uniquely designed supplied item under Luna Rossa production that delayed production by six months, but was ultimately resolved by consensus.
TVNZ
INEOS Team UK loses a protest before the start of their career against Luna Rossa on the hardest days.
“It is the intellectual property of the New Zealand team … We want to make sure all teams learn about it and help each other,” Ainslie said.
New Zealand team captain Peter Burling offered some hope: “If there’s anything you want from us, just sing along.”
Ainslie jumped on that, responding quickly: “Can you send us the software and how is it designed? Then we can figure out what the problem is. “
The problem could backfire on the New Zealand team on Friday, when they meet the British twice. Ainslie couldn’t guarantee that her team would make it to the starting line.
“Sincerely I dont know. The team will work through the night to solve the problem. I’m sure they’ll fix it, but I can’t guarantee we’ll be running. [on Friday].
“We will move heaven and earth to be there. We all love racing, it’s a great opportunity for all teams, so we want to be there. “
The design tweaks would require a change to the AC75 class rule and would require an agreement between defender Team New Zealand and record challenger Luna Rossa, who have been having trouble coming to an agreement lately.
Ainslie found sympathy from the Americans and Italians.
“We have a team of two or three guys full time and so many engineers focused on that package all the time,” American Magic’s Andrew Campbell, the sailor who controls his foils, explained of the foil cantilever system.
“The reality is that they constantly focus, adjust… all kinds of projects with that system to make sure it sticks.
“It is a battle … We are fighting an uphill battle to make sure it is working as well as possible, much less as expected.”
Luna Rossa raised concerns about the system last month and helmsman Francesco Bruni said there were ongoing problems.
“It is a complex system; it’s always a work in progress, ”he said.
