America’s Cup Round Robin To Resume
It’s take two in the Louis Vuitton Americas Cup Qualifiers Round Robin 2 with the rerun of yesterday’s [May 31] four postponed races due to take place on the Great Sound today.
Mother Nature put paid to any race action yesterday, with winds over the Great Sound racecourse remaining below the minimum six knot limit that the America’s Cup Class [ACC] boats can compete in.
However, with winds predicted to reach the required 6-24 knot range needed to race today, action is set to return with SoftBank Team Japan, Groupama Team France, Land Rover BAR, Emirates Team New Zealand and Oracle Team USA all set to feature.
Having raced twice during the first set of Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers Round Robin 2 races on Tuesday, Artemis Racing will not feature today.
The first race of the day [RR2, Race 4] will see two teams in need of a victory, with bottom-placed Groupama Team France facing off against SoftBank Team Japan, who sit one place higher in the standings but equal on two points.
Having secured a welcome victory against Artemis Racing on Tuesday, Land Rover BAR, who are third in the standings with four points, will be aiming to build some momentum in a challenging race against second-placed Emirates Team New Zealand in Race 5.
The Kiwis, who have amassed five points to date, will be keen to claim another victory and close the gap to current table-toppers Oracle Team USA, who sit just one point clear of their nearest rivals, having also won five races in the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers.
The American team, who carried over a point into the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers after finishing second in the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series, follow on in Race 6, with SoftBank Team Japan returning for their second race of the day.
Two other teams are also racing twice today, Groupama Team France and Land Rover BAR, both returning to the water in the final race of the day [RR2, Race 6] to take on one another, with Sir Ben Ainslie’s British team aiming to avoid a repeat of the defeat they suffered to Franck Cammas’ team on Monday.
