America's Cup: New Court papers reveal Ratcliffe rejected "good faith" use of AC75
by Richard Gladwell/Sail-World.com/nz 24 Aug 02:17 PDT
Sir Jim and Sir Ben - INEOS Britannia - Louis Vuitton Cup Final - Sept 9, 2024 - Barcelona © Ricardo Pinto / America's Cup
The positions of the parties involved in the legal action stemming from the 2024 British America's Cup, appear to have hardened in an amended Defence file by Athena Racing.
The team which was under the control of Sir Ben Ainslie at the time of the time of the 2024 America's Cup, has been given permission by the Admiralty Court of England and Wales to lodge an amended Defence to the Claim lodged on April 15, 2026 by INEOS Racing controlled by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, over the ownership of assets relating to the 2024 America's Cup challenge by the Royal Yacht Squadron Ltd.
Late last week, Athena Racing lodged an amendment to their Defence lodged almost three months earlier on May 28, 2026, to which INEOS Racing responded six weeks later on July 13.
Many of the amendments appear to be a legal patchwork clarifying or correcting relatively minor issues in the 41-page May 28 Defence document, the opening recital of which is that "the Claimant's claim is denied in its entirety."
The contract between the two parties which covered the 2021 and 2024 America's Cup Challenges is still not revealed in the documents placed before the Court, with the dispute being centred around clauses in the document relating to wind-down of the 2024 Challenge conducted under the INEOS Britannia banner, or the continuance of a British team by Athena Racing for the 38th America's Cup.
The latest papers reveal that a letter sent on April 22 by Sir Ben Ainslie to Jonny Ginns, a Director of INEOS Sport requested "that the Claimant consider in good faith a proposal that the Defendant Claimant would retain these assets for the purposes of competing in AC38."
In the May 28 Defence response, Athena Racing mentioned the offer had been made and noted that: "The Defendant has not, to date, received a response to this letter."
In the amended statement of Defence, Athena Racing says the proposal was rejected: "By a letter dated 5 June 2026, Mr Ginns (for and on behalf of the Board of Directors of the Claimant) declined the Defendant’s request outright."
Significantly, the letter signed by Jonny Ginns was sent nine days after Athena Racing told the Court they had not received a reply to their proposal, which they had sent a month earlier. The text of the proposal has not been released, but it would have defused much of the legal heat and stress in the current situation.
The effect of Ainslie's proposal would have allowed Athena Racing to use the disputed AC75 and other assets related to the 2024 British campaign without operating under the shadow of the legal dispute between the Challenger and its former Investor/Sponsor.
Currently, the 2024 America's Cup Challenger's AC75 is undergoing modification at an unnamed location, with no launch date announced. The team is building a base in Bagnoli, Naples. It has been sailing its AC40s, which are both in the undisputed ownership of Athena Racing, and are racing under the new entities of "GB1" and "GB2".
Another consistent change in the Amended Defence is the insertion of the word "forecasts" whenever "cash flow reports" were mentioned. This is believed to be in response to the INEOS Racing Ltd claim that they were not advised of expenditure being made by Athena Racing, and in their original claim requested a full statement as to the distribution of funding provided by INEOS Racing, and an asset schedule relating to the 2024 America's Cup Challenge.
Athena Racing has refused to provide these documents, saying that full financial reporting was provided to INEOS during the period of their investment/sponsorship.
Ownership of the AC75, INEOS Britannia, only really became an issue after the final version of the Protocol governing the conduct of the 38th America's Cup was publicly announced on August 12, 2025. That document prohibited the construction of new AC75 hulls, reversing the stipulation in the "draft Protocol" released three months earlier on May 23, 2025 which allowed the teams to build one new AC75.
Had that provision been allowed to stand, then Athena Racing could have built a new AC75, and while the current legal dispute may still have taken place, Athena Racing could have competed in the upcoming America's Cup using a new boat.
INEOS Racing have consented to the admission of the Amended Defence.
The Admiralty Court has given INEOS Racing the opportunity to respond by September 15, 2026.