The change of heart took a good year, but now Ben Ainslie, three-time Olympic gold medallist, thinks the new concept of the America's Cup is fantastic. At the beginning of December 2010, he still had a " Whole generation cheated "After his first attempts with One World Challenge (31st Cup) and Emirates Team New Zealand (32nd ), he himself had recently prepared for the 33rd Cup with the British Team Origin.
Now he has refocused his career on the battle for the jug. It is "a great opportunity for himself and for potential partners", he commented at the presentation of his new team Ben Ainslie Racing, with whom he wants to take part in the AC World Series with an AC-45 catamaran. He gained his first experience during a test drive with Russell Coutts and was impressed by both the boat and the format. "The presentation, especially on TV, is fantastic," he said.
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The team is completely new, having just been founded, the sailors will be recruited in the coming weeks and as many British athletes as possible will be signed up. The financing of around three million euros is apparently being provided by Oracle Racing. Russell Coutts explained that he is fully behind Ainslie's goal of laying the foundations for his own campaign. The team had wanted to sign Ainslie directly, but he insisted on having his own racing team and will now be a sparring partner for Oracle Racing.
However, Ainslie's real goal is to participate in the 35th America's Cup, "time is too short for the 34th edition," he said. The search for partners is now being intensified worldwide.
First on Ainslie's agenda, however, is participation in the Olympic Games in August, where he is the top favourite in the Finn dinghy. He left his Olympic future open, saying it "depends on which boat classes are chosen".
Lars Bolle
Chief Editor Digital
