America’s Cup: A rollercoaster ride for the French – from victories to capsizes

It’s no mean feat to match what the French achieved on the second of the three race days at the second pre-regatta for the 38th Louis Vuitton America’s Cup. Following a race cancellation the previous day, four races were scheduled for Saturday for the nine crews from six teams. The La Roche-Posay Racing Team opened the day with a sixth-place finish, having previously been in the top two. This was followed by what was arguably the most dramatic rollercoaster ride.

Capsized whilst jibing: La Roche-Posay Racing

Quentin Delapierre, Diego Botin, Jason Saunders and Flo Trittel won the second race of the day. In the races that followed, they once again took a commanding lead, when they capsized whilst jibing at the course mark during the final leg of the race. This time, it was a bit slower than during the brutal nosedive the day before.

The French demonstrated just how strongly and swiftly they were playing that day as soon as her second capsizing within 24 hours. Perhaps her greatest achievement on Saturday was that she lined up for the next race again and even secure a second victory of the day. The fact that Bleu-Blanc-Rouge was back in action so quickly and so successfully was further evidence of the durability of the AC40 foils.

"What a rollercoaster ride today!" La Roche-Posay Racing Team

The team that had enjoyed the most success the previous day, finishing 2nd and 1st, also scored well overall on Saturday, though their performance was not quite as commanding: Luna Rossa’s main team, with helmsmen Peter Burling and Marco Gradoni, finished 1st, 6th, 2nd and 3rd in the four races on Saturday. That was more than enough to defend their commanding lead ahead of Sunday’s final.

Luna Rossa’s A-Team defends its lead on the America’s Cup course

Luna Rossa’s A-Team leads the standings on 51 points ahead of the final two fleet races and Sunday’s match race between the top two teams, ahead of the defending champions, Emirates Team New Zealand (43 points). With finishes of 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 7th, Tudor Team Alinghi also secured a strong fourth place on average on Saturday, despite the team arriving late on the race course following hydraulic problems and a chain becoming entangled around the foil. Ahead of Sunday’s final sprint, the Swiss were still within striking distance of the top two with 38 points.

The Kiwis secured the only victory of the day for any of the three women’s and youth teams on Saturday. The fact that the French are only in seventh place with 31 points after six races is down to their two capsizes and the resulting race forfeits. It remains to be seen what SailGP sailors Quentin Delapierre and Diego Botin, together with their trimmers, might still be able to achieve on Sunday.

The British team’s performance so far has been frustrating, despite having competed against Emirates Team New Zealand for the America’s Cup in Barcelona in 2024. Their women’s and youth team, Cobham-Ultra GB2, skippered by Hannah Mills, were in eighth place on Saturday evening with 29 points. Dylan Fletcher and the senior team were even bringing up the rear with 28 points. Click here for the results of the individual races and the provisional standings (scroll down a little!).

The second America’s Cup pre-regatta: watch the final live on YouTube

Click here for the live broadcast of the final two fleet races on Sunday and the match race between the top two teams after eight races. The programme starts at 2 pm.

REPLAY! Click here to watch the live broadcast of the second of the three days of racing at the second pre-regatta for the 38th Louis Vuitton America’s Cup in the Gulf of Naples:

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