Land Rover BAR – the British challenge headed by Olympic legend Ben Ainslie – has won the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series with a first place finish at the ultimate event in Japan this weekend.
Ainslie’s team sailed extremely well to secure the overall title with a race to spare. With the overall series win, Land Rover BAR earns two bonus points for the next stage of the America’s Cup (see below).
ORACLE TEAM USA and skipper Jimmy Spithill pushed hard, finishing ahead of BAR in the first race of the day, but Ainslie was able to sail with controlled aggression to a 4, 2, 3 scoreline, and into the overall series win.
“This has been a goal for us for the whole season and for this event. The guys have done an incredible job,” Ainslie said from the water following the second race of the day.
“For us as a new team it sends out a strong message for all our supporters that we can do it.”
For the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series Fukuoka, it came down to a tie-break with Land Rover BAR clawing into a tie with Artemis Racing in the final contest, and taking the regatta by virtue of a better result in the last race.
But with attention shifting to Bermuda and the America’s Cup racing next year, the focus was on the overall title and bonus points it confers.
By taking first place on the overall Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series leaderboard, Land Rover BAR has collected two bonus points to carry forward into next year’s Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers in Bermuda.
With a second place finish on the overall leaderboard, ORACLE TEAM USA secured one bonus point for the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers next year.
