America’s Cup 2021: Luna Rossa claims victory over American Magic as Dean Barker taunts race officials

Ineos Team UK have remained undefeated in the Prada Cup, beating the American Magic in their only race on day two.

But for the Americans, led by kiwifruit Dean Barker, it was a terrifying second day on the water, as they suffered a third loss and fell from pre-race favorites to now considered the weakest challenger on display.

The frustration apparently reached Barker who, after the first race of the day – defeat to Jimmy Spithill’s Luna Rossa in a very light breeze – expressed his disgust at the decision to go ahead with the sailing despite the low winds.

“[You could] call that a lottery, yeah … pretty marginal. You wonder why you want to do that as part of the event. But it is what it is. Swings and roundabouts and obviously we didn’t do so well, “Barker told officials in what was apparently a veiled dig.

When asked why American Magic didn’t go for bigger headsails, Barker said: “Before departure, we didn’t expect to be sailing in that light and breeze. It was a bit surprising that it was so light.

“It’s just connecting the dots. Everyone is fighting.”

In what had previously been an area of ​​concern for Ineos Team UK, the British entry showed great improvement in light winds to claim their third win in a row.

As they did on the opening day, Sir Ben Ainslie’s crew made the best of the start, putting them in a position to control the course.

The British team handled the rough conditions better and led by more than 1,600 meters after the third stage.

In the end, it turned into a time trial for Ineos Team UK, who had just under seven minutes to finish the final stage and exceed the 45-minute time limit on the race.

They did so with about two minutes remaining, at which point the team’s skipper Sir Ben Ainslie said “good sailing.”

The Americans also suffered from a nightmare start to race one: After unsuccessfully appealing a penalty on the Italian after a tight junction in pre-start, both teams dropped their foils and already had to work hard to get back on the road.

The Italians did it in no time, while the Americans were stranded for much of the remaining two minutes before kickoff.

As Luna Rossa flew through the first stage, American Magic fell back from the foils mid-stage and ran in displacement until just before the mark, which they rounded off more than seven minutes after Luna Rossa.

But while American Magic had its problems in the first stage, Luna Rossa had hers in the second. The Americans quickly ate the lead as Luna Rossa failed to frustrate and found themselves in the lead halfway.

Both teams’ struggles to stay on their feet saw the race shortened from six stages to four at the start of the second stage.

Soon after, Luna Rossa flew back to the lead as they were able to get up on their foils before their counterparts to lead by a minute in the second marker.

From there, they never gave up the lead, managing to chase the breeze to the end of the last stretch to stay on their foils all the way down and close out a strange race.

Are you going to compete in the Cup?

• Give yourself plenty of time and consider taking a ferry, train or bus to see the Cup.

• Make sure your AT HOP card is in your pocket. It is the best way to ride.

• Don’t forget to scan QR codes with the NZ COVID Tracer app when you are on public transportation and enter America’s Cup Village.

• For more ways to enjoy race day, visit at.govt.nz/americascup.