INEOS Britannia, the British Challenger of Record racing for the Royal Yacht Squadron Ltd in the 37th America's Cup, has chosen to race Alinghi Red Bull Racing (SUI) in the Louis Vuitton Cup Semi-Final.
Ben Ainslie's British team won the right to select its opponent after coming top of the group in the Round Robin stage, where each team raced each other twice. It means the second Semi-Final pairing will be Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (ITA) v New York Yacht Club American Magic (USA). The first team to win five races in each pairing will progress to the Louis Vuitton Cup (Challenger Selection Series) Final.
Ben Ainslie, Team Principal and Skipper of INEOS Britannia, said selecting their opponent "definitely wasn't a straightforward decision".
Ainslie said: "Every team has their strengths and weaknesses, especially in different conditions. So the forecast for the Semi-Final period was a really important factor in our decision. In all honesty, we didn't actually confirm our decision until a few hours ago and we had input from our sailing team and coaches as well as our performance, analysis and technical teams. We think Alinghi will be a good test and give us a good chance to keep learning, developing and progressing through the competition.
"Obviously it's a great position to be in, coming top of the Round Robins and choosing our opponent in the Semis, but we're not getting ahead of ourselves. We know there's a lot more to do and our main focus now is getting points on the board and making good performance gains."
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