Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series Oman - Overall
by Oman Sail 28 Feb 2016 15:36 GMT
27-28 February 2016
Super Sunday at Louis Vuitton Americas Cup World Series Oman © Jesus Renedo / Lloyd Images / Oman Sail
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Sensational racing set to a backdrop of Oman's stunning coastline rounded off the inaugural Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series Oman today as Sir Ben Ainslie's Land Rover BAR team snatched victory.
The first ever America's Cup event to be held in the Middle East was hailed a storming success by sailors and spectators alike following two days of intense battle in Muscat.
The world's media descended on the Omani capital for the first Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series event of 2016 and expectations were high for an exciting event.
The arrival in Oman on Thursday of the America's Cup trophy, sailing's oldest prize, was marked with a grand welcoming ceremony at Muscat International Airport attended by a host of dignitaries including Her Excellency Maitha Al Mahrouqi, Under-Secretary of Ministry of Tourism and Chairwoman of Oman Sail.
It is the first time the trophy, also known as the 'Auld Mug', has ever visited the Middle East in the 165-year history of the America's Cup.
And after two days of nail-biting action under Muscat's blue skies that saw Land Rover BAR claim a dramatic last-minute victory, the first ever Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series Oman was given a resounding thumbs up.
Sir Ben Ainslie praised Oman as a world-class venue and also commended Oman Sail's work to reignite the country's maritime heritage and inspire youngsters to take up the sport.
"We've had a great weekend of racing here in Oman – it's always a pleasure to come here," said four-time Olympic gold medallist Ainslie.
"There is such fantastic support for sailing and in particular youth sailing to get youngsters out on the water.
"Conditions have been great for racing and to bring the America's Cup here is very special for the event and for Oman.
"It was tricky racing in the light winds but it actually proved for really exciting competition.
"There was a lot of place-changing that you might not get in stronger winds. It was a whole new challenge for the sailors to deal with.
"I love Oman – I've been here twice now and it's a great country. Muscat has proved to be a fantastic venue for the America's Cup and hopefully we can come back again soon."
Glenn Ashby, skipper of overall series leaders Emirates Team New Zealand, was in agreement with his rival as to the top-notch sailing Muscat dealt out.
"It was fantastic sailing today and yesterday here in Oman," he added. "We had some tricky, shifty breeze and the racing was really close.
"As a team we've really enjoyed coming here to Oman – the racing has been brilliant, and so has the hospitality. We've had a great time and hopefully we'll be back here again in the future."
Land Rover BAR went into the second of two days of racing on top following a dominant display yesterday where they won two of the three races in light airs.
A slightly stronger breeze of around 10 knots greeted the teams today on what was dubbed 'Super Sunday' because of the double points on offer.
A slow start from Ainslie's crew allowed Emirates Team New Zealand to rocket ahead and extend their lead all the way to the finish line to claim the first race win of the day.
Canny tactics saw Land Rover BAR scrap back into second place ahead of Dean Barker's SoftBank Team Japan.
Desperate to avenge a fifth-place finish in race 1, Jimmy Spithill's ORACLE TEAM USA flew out of the starting blocks in race 2 as the teams traded blows in front of crowds of spectators.
They saw off a late challenge from Groupama Team France, with Adam Minoprio at the helm in place of injured skipper Franck Cammas, to pick up maximum points.
With ORACLE TEAM USA getting an early jump on the fleet in the sixth and final race of the ACWS Oman it looked all over for Ainslie's men when they were penalised at the start along with Artemis.
But the Brits fought back thanks to some bold calls by tactician Giles Scott to finish the race in third behind Groupama Team France and ORACLE TEAM USA.
The result handed the first ever ACWS Oman title to Land Rover BAR by just two points.
Their spectacular win makes them the first team to win two ACWS events, having won in Portsmouth, UK, last year.
It also puts them just one point behind second-placed ORACLE TEAM USA on the overall ACWS leaderboard.
Emirates Team New Zealand continue to lead the series by six points going into the next round in New York in May.
Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series Oman Results:
1st Land Rover BAR - 8, 10, 10, 18, 14, 16 - 76pts
2nd ORACLE TEAM USA - 9, 6, 9, 12, 20, 18 - 74pts
3rd Emirates Team NZ - 10, 7, 5, 20, 16, 12 - 70pts
4th Groupama Team France - 5, 8, 7, 10, 18, 20 - 68pts
5th SoftBank Team Japan - 6, 9, 6, 16, 10, 14 - 61pts
6th Artemis Racing - 7, 5, 8, 14, 12, 10 - 56pts
Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series Results:
1st Emirates Team New Zealand – 192pts
2nd ORACLE TEAM USA – 186pts
3rd Land Rover BAR – 185pts
4th SoftBank Team Japan – 161pts
5th Artemis Racing – 161pts
6th Groupama Team France - 150pts
Land Rover BAR first team to claim second ACWS win (from Land Rover BAR)
Land Rover BAR win in Oman to become the only team to have won two America's Cup World Series events to date. A nail-biting final day saw the team come from behind in all three races to snatch victory by just two points from Oracle Team USA.
Super Sunday delivers double points for all three races and the tension was high – skippers were pulling the trigger early with multiple boats over the start line and twice Land Rover BAR was one of them.
The first race the team had a clean start but rounded first reach in sixth place, they fought their way through the pack to take second. The next race, the British team were one of three boats over the line, meaning another tough fight back, this time grabbing fourth in the final metres of the race.
The final double point race saw the team jump the start again, and this time the team were just able to claw their way back to third, right behind the America's Cup holders, Oracle Team USA (OTUSA) who were overtaken by Groupama Team France. It was enough to take the event by just two points from OTUSA, with Emirates Team New Zealand another four points back in third.
Thoughts on the day:
Ben Ainslie, Skipper and Team Principal:
"It was pretty tough, we would have liked better starts. We were pushing for the leeward end, but it's a bit all or nothing. You either come through with pace or not, and you have to push so hard to get clear air that there is always a danger of being early. Unfortunately we were over early in those last two and that makes it particularly hard because you get rolled by the fleet and you are starting dead last. But no one dropped their head, and we just kept fighting through it. Good teamwork from everyone, and Giles did a great job on the tactics to get us back through the fleet.
"The win is particularly important for us as a new team, some of the established teams have a track record and for us, we need to prove that we can compete at the top of this America's Cup fleet. I think that we are doing that. It's important for our team back home, we've got a big squad of boat builders and designers and everyone else working really hard, long hours and they want to believe that we can really win this thing. I hope that we are proving to them that we can. For all the guys at the base, supporting at home in Portsmouth they should share in this win, we're in it together."
"The code zero was a crucial factor again, it was a big decision all weekend when to use that sail, and our coaching team of Rob Wilson and Luc du Bois did a really good job of helping us to understand those different modes and the right time to deploy the code zero sail. And it's also a big boat handling effort for the guys, they did a great job handling that sail.
Paul 'CJ' Campbell James, wing trimmer:
"To come out with the win is fantastic, but we made our lives pretty hard and we've definitely got things we can still work on. It was a pretty awesome feeling sailing through the fleet in the last one. We were getting a bit excited on the start line and triggering just one second to early on both of the second two races. The margins are so small and we were going for the number one position on the start and didn't quite make it. It's easy to drop your head in that situation, and Ben and Giles tactically did a great job today. We came back, that's the most important thing, and everyone is happy on board."
Jonathan 'Jono' Macbeth, Sailing Team Manager:
"The thing that we can take out of the whole weekend is that the guys never gave up and they showed amazing spirit and skill to be able to sail from some of the positions they were in. It was an incredible all round performance. We rotated in a couple of different people which shows the strength of the sailing team and how far we've come since we started out a couple of years ago. Ben and Giles are a formidable pairing. The way the two of them work in sync, and they show incredible mental toughness. It's just one regatta on a long road, but I'd have much rather started with a win than anything else."
David 'Freddie' Carr, who shared the Runner position with Andy McLean over the weekend; "We are at the level with our boat handling where we can swap people in and out really easily, so we can fine tune the crew weight for the wind speed. And about ten minutes before the first start today I got the call to get onboard, and I hadn't sailed since [ACWS] Bermuda. I had to use hyper-focus to get my head into the sailing and it was a massive 50 minutes of racing. We dug some points out for a fourth and a second - after being last in both of the races I was onboard. Then the breeze dropped and I got off – to see the boys then go on and win from there was the best feeling. Over the moon."
Emirates Team New Zealand remain on top after Oman (from Emirates Team New Zealand)
Emirates Team New Zealand have maintained their lead on top of the Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series after an exhaustive two days of close light air racing in Muscat, Oman.
Emirates Team New Zealand and Ben Ainslie Racing were the only teams to win two races each out of the six after Glenn Ashby and crew won the first race of the day again. But in the end it was the British that got their nose ahead and took out the overall Oman regatta by just two points over Oracle and Emirates Team New Zealand.
"As with all of these events, the final results always come down to the final race. I knew we just had to beat Ben Ainslie in the last race and we would win the regatta." said tactician Ray Davies.
"Obviously this is always easier said than done, we had a good lead over them half way up the upwind leg and we were looking good, but the French tacked on us which gave us some dirty air which hurt our cross on three starboard tackers that we had to dip and essentially that was what did the damage in the last race."
The second race of the day was another strong one for Emirates Team New Zealand, Peter Burling got off to a good start among half of the fleet who were judged to have crossed the line early rounding the first mark in third place, which is precisely where they finished.
This regatta more than any previously, was evident how strong all of the teams have become across the fleet with four teams winning races, and all teams getting podium finishes during the regatta.
"To come away from any event on top of the world series leaderboard is not a bad thing at all." said skipper Glenn Ashby.
"You can certainly get a sense of the skill level across the board really rising and no race is easy. You just have to look at Artemis racing who won the previous event and finished last here in Oman. The margins between a good and bad event are so small, you have to keep improving and working hard to have an edge over your competitors."
The next Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series event is in New York on May 7th & 8th.
In the meantime, the team returns to New Zealand to resume their intensive testing and development program on Auckland's Hauraki Gulf.