America's Cup - Land Rover BAR struggles with speed problems

by Miles Dilworth, Daily Telegraph on 16 May 2017 British America's Cup Challenger and winner of the America's Cup World Series looks like they will need every one of the two points they earned from the ACWS to progress beyond the America's Cup Qualifiers which starts at the end of next week.

Land Rover BAR suffered two race losses in the opening stanza's of the final long Practice Session, after leading in both..

Miles Dilworth writes in the Daily Telegraph..

Time is running out for Ben Ainslie to claw himself back into contention for the 35th America's Cup, as his Land Rover BAR team continued to struggle on day 1 of the final practice round in Bermuda.

Ainslie's Land Rover BAR team lost races against Oracle Team USA and SoftBank Team Japan, despite twice taking early leads. The team's lack of straight-line speed proving to be their Achilles heel.

In race 1, Ainslie's team made the better start against Oracle, but the America's Cup Defenders quickly found their rhythm, establishing a substantial lead by the second windward mark. Oracle continued to extent that gap throughout the race, crossing the finish line a full minute ahead of the British team - a crushing victory in match racing terms.

Land Rover BAR were straight out onto the water again for race 2, but their fortunes did not improve, suffering a second successive defeat to SoftBank Team Japan. After gaining an early lead for the second time in the day, Land Rover BAR quickly slipped behind the Japanese crew and ultimately finished a distant second.

The British team, led by the four-time Olympic gold medalist, has fought to keep pace with the early favourites since arriving in Bermuda, with Ainslie promising a 'late charge' prior to the start of the main event. Competitive racing begins on May 26.

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