Image: © C.GREGORY/INEOS BRITANNIA

Undoubtedly one of the most watched teams in the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup has been the Challenger of Record, INEOS Britannia who, from the very start, have placed design innovation at the heart of their campaign. It is often said that the America’s Cup is a ‘design race with a regatta at the end’ and it’s an apt description of how detailed this meticulous challenge has been.

 

Fusing the awesome internal capabilities and deep cross-discipline experience of the entire INEOS Sports Group has been key to undoubtedly the best challenge to emerge from British shores since Sir Thomas Lipton went closest in 1934. 

 

When the team revealed their LEQ12 back in 2022 at their winter training base in Palma, Mallorca, immediately they signalled deep-intent that they meant business in the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup. Bristling with technology and live linked back to Mission Control bases in both Palma and Brackley, Northamptonshire as part of their partnership with the Mercedes Formula 1 team it was clear that the team wanted precision and accuracy to extract maximum data. Not without its issues, a capsize and near-sinking was skilfully averted and a broken rudder gantry whilst under tow at speed certainly confirmed that this was a team willing to push the limits.

 

When the team’s stunning AC75 was revealed in May 2024, suddenly everything made sense with a design that to the naked eye is radically different to the rest of the fleet and bristling with innovation. The commissioning process was swift in Barcelona, and soon the team were at full bore putting in some very impressive performances that has the whole of the Port Vell on high alert. INEOS Britannia know what’s required of them and there’s a quiet confidence around this highly experienced team that their programme is bang on track.

 

With a month to go before racing, Sir Ben Ainslie the Chief Executive Officer and Helm for INEOS Britannia is looking forward to the upcoming third and final Preliminary Regatta and when asked how the team is, he responded: “Yeah good, like everyone we’re excited about getting into racing and getting a better read on the competition – who’s going fast and in what sort of conditions and of course gauging what the racing is going to look like as we get into the round robins. It’s our opportunity to gauge ourselves against the opposition and start to get match fit. Of course, we will inevitably still be making changes to the set-up of the boat through the Preliminary Regatta, then into the Round Robins and as we progress through the competition so it’s constantly tweaking the boat to try and find that optimum performance.”

 

A previous winner of the America’s Cup in that thrilling Match against Emirates Team New Zealand in 2013 when Ben stepped aboard Oracle Team USA as a tactician for Jimmy Spithill, Ben knows what it takes to win and is unequivocal about who are the teams to beat, saying: “I would imagine, like everyone else, the Kiwis in particular, as the form team obviously from the last Cup and I think in the sailing we’ve seen so far Luna Rossa and American Magic seem to be going well, and of course there’s an element of unknown with the French, obviously you’d expect similar performance to New Zealand, so it will be fascinating to see how it plays out.”

 

Late summer in Barcelona can throw up weather surprises and Ben is well aware that the conditions could well play into the overall results, saying: “I think it’s inevitably going to be a big part of the outcome of this competition where no doubt we’ll end up with certain teams competitive in certain conditions over others and Mother Nature will, I think, have a large part to say in the outcome of this competition but that said, as teams we’ve known that there’s this variability for a long time and that’s part of the design challenge, trying to come up with a package that’s fast enough in the majority of conditions.”

 

In previous interviews, many of the Challengers have alluded that they will be at full race-pace going into this final Preliminary Regatta, but Ben is cautious on that as he knows the America’s Cup game so well: “I think we might see some teams, not necessarily sand-bagging, but I’m not sure initially that they’re going to bring their full race package to the party so to speak, in a number of different areas and that’s to be expected, I think, at this stage of the competition, we talked about the fact that all the teams will be developing hard trying to find that optimum performance so they’ll be trying different things, they’ll be trying different strategies, potentially crew line-ups, there’ll be a lot of variability I think.”

 

INEOS Britannia has looked weapons-grade on the water in recent sessions with a beautiful ride and effective end-plating through its innovative bustle/skeg and there’s a strong feeling that there’s plenty to come in terms of outright performance. Ben confirms as such, saying: “I would say there’s probably somewhere between 5-10% of performance left in these boats, maybe more in certain conditions, certainly in the bigger sea states, maybe more, so a huge amount still to play for, a lot on the table and history tells us that the boats that develop the best through the competition are likely to come out on top at the end.”

 

Ahead of the Preliminary Regatta, and after three years of outright hard work all round from the Challenger of Record, Ben is excited for everyone but knows the task that lays before them: “It’s a big moment for our team, as it is for all the teams, a huge amount of effort and as I always say it’s so hard to explain to people outside of the team just how much effort goes into putting these teams together, getting these boats designed, manufactured, built, on the water, operating – a huge team effort so I think everyone should take a lot of pride in that and of course we all want to be successful out on the water with the ultimate goal of the America’s Cup so until you get to that point no-one is really able to relax.”

 

With world class sailors and elite athletes onboard, INEOS Britannia is a tantalising prospect for the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup. British fans have every right to be excited at their prospects and the building sense of optimism that emanates from a very happy and dedicated collective is infectious. Bringing the America’s Cup trophy back to the yacht club that started it all in 1851 would be the story of all stories. History beckons but first the Preliminary Regatta that starts on the 22nd August in Barcelona where we, as spectators, will get a first read on the possible direction of the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup.

(Magnus Wheatley)