America's Cup: Prada Cup: Brits fly into the final at a speed of 50 knots

Nine lead changes and a thrilling duel: after a postponed start and a Cunningham problem for the British team, the only real duel of the day took place on Saturday night off Auckland between Sir Ben Ainslie's British Ineos Team UK and the Italian Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team with the two helmsmen Francesco Bruni and Jimmy Spithill. Following the dramatic capsize and near sinking of the American "Patriot" last weekend, the programme included the third encounter between the British and the Azzurri. The good news: with many changes at the front and a strong fighting spirit, the race offered plenty of excitement and was the best of the challenger series so far - and also the last.

Here you can enjoy the most exciting scenes once again...

Before the only real race of the day in 18 to 22 knots of wind, team director and skipper Max Sirena said: "I knew from the Christmas race that the performance of the Brits did not reflect their true capabilities. We all know that Ben is probably one of the greatest sailors on the planet. And so is Giles. He's probably the man of the future. We know we're under pressure, but we'll fight to the end."

Ben Ainslie, winless in the Christmas pre-season and subsequently criticised like a schoolboy who came home with an F, said ahead of the start of Saturday's Prada Cup preliminary round decider against the Italians: "We're going into the game with the intensity we need to win. We want to beat them and will give our all to reach the Prada Cup final today." Ainslie also explained why this was so important to him: "Going straight into the final gives you more time. And time is everything in this game." While the semi-finalists - the Italians and Americans - have to return to action on 29 January, the Brits, who are now seeded for the Prada Cup final, have until 13 February to further optimise their boat.

How the leading sailors of the teams reacted to the decision in the Kamof for direct entry into the Prada Cup final

The barrel laps tell the story of the decisive race: After a successful start by both teams, the Brits had a two-second lead on the first lap and a nine-second lead on the second. The Italians then took over, rounding the mark 19 seconds ahead after the third section of the course and 10 seconds ahead after the fourth. Both boats then sailed almost bow to bow towards the finish. When the British had finally built up a small lead, there was a close encounter in which the Italians protested against Ineos Team UK in a classic port to starboard situation. The television presenters spoke of a "Hollywood manoeuvre" in view of the almost theatrical attempt by helmsman Jimmy Spithill to pin an infringement of the rules on the British team. The referees rejected the protest.

After the decisive duel, four-time Olympic champion Ben Ainslie said: "That was a race for the fans today - pretty exciting and with lots of lead changes. We take our hats off to the guys from Luna Rossa, who really pushed hard. We had a few problems on the way into the pre-start phase. We were missing a few key settings for the power on board. But our guys did a great job in getting us round the course safely." The British also sailed well, shining with strong positioning and successful manoeuvres, while the Italians showed some weaknesses right from the first tacks. Two-time Olympic champion and TV commentator Shirley Robertson was not the only one to note: "The America's Cup is not just about engineering. The trust between Ben Ainslie and Giles Scott(Editor: Tactician, Finn Olympic champion) is part of the British success."

The Brits have now secured plenty of time to make their boat even faster with their 6:0 preliminary round record. In addition, they had to compete in the "ghost race" early on Saturday morning without their American opponents, who, as is well known, had a hole in their hull. The Ineos Team UK was then seeded for the Prada Cup final and will now have to wait for the winner of next weekend's semi-final duel between the Italian runners-up in the preliminary round and the third-placed Americans, who are still struggling to repair their "Patriot" and make a comeback. Ainslie's sailing team celebrated their first successful step on the way to the America's Cup match against the defending Emirates Team New Zealand with the visibly enthusiastic racing team owner Jim Ratcliffe on board. However, the bottle of champagne that was passed around is not the prize the team has in its sights. The Brits have set out to finally bring home the silver jug they lost in their own territory in 1851 at the Cup premiere and have never won before.

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