America's Cup: "Just like in a football stadium"

Update 27.7.: There was no sailing on Sunday, the second day of racing, due to strong winds. The results from Saturday are therefore the final results.

Sunshine, 14 to 15 knots of wind and enthusiastic crowds of spectators: The start of the first regatta of the America's Cup World Series off Portsmouth whetted the appetite for more. The British team Land Rover Ben Ainslie Racing performed best in these dream conditions. On home turf, the team of four-time Olympic champion Sir Ben Ainslie won the first of the two races on Saturday in convincing fashion. In the second race, it was enough for second place after an impressive fightback. This put the British team at the top of the standings for the time being.

"It was a great day for us. We were finally able to get going in the America's Cup - and in front of our own audience here in Portsmouth. I'm delighted for the whole team and the spectators and fans here that we were able to give them a good show. We couldn't have wished for better conditions. There were so many supporters here for our team. It was just brilliant."

The day was somewhat different from the point of view of the American Cup defenders. Jimmy Spithill, skipper of Oracle Team USA, said: "We had to fight for every centimetre today." While the team of racing team owner Larry Ellison fought an exciting duel with Ainslie's team in the first race, Spithill and his men had to be satisfied with fourth place in the second race. For the time being, that was enough to secure third place on the podium behind the strong Emirates Team New Zealand with its new helmsman Peter Burling. He said: "It was a great day for us. We are still pretty green behind the ears when it comes to these foiling boats. So we are quite happy with our results on this first day."

New Zealand's former skipper Dean Barker was able to achieve a small success in his first race with the new SoftBank Team Japan after a very short preparation period, beating the Swedish team Artemis Racing to last place. "We are working hard, but it takes a bit of time," said the experienced Barker, who only recently took on the role of conductor for the new Japanese team, "the other teams have already sailed a lot together on other boats. We have to keep working hard to improve and minimise mistakes to get closer to the top."

Almost 50,000 fans watched the spectacular races on the AC45 catamarans in the ticketed area. Thousands more stood along the banks. On the water, another 15,000 spectators on around 2,000 boats were there live. On the second and final day of this first Cup regatta in British waters for 165 years, three more double scored races are on the programme.