British walking a tight rope
America’s Cup officials appear set to review a key rule that has a disqualification hanging over Sir Ben Ainslie’s rampant British syndicate.
The complaint of noncompliance rule allows teams to question opposition developments they feel are breaching the strict guidelines set down in the AC75 Class Rule that governs the radical foiling monohulls introduced for Auckland 2021.
Luna Rossa successfully protested a sail innovation that INEOS Team UK used to get Britannia away to a flier in the Prada Cup round-robins.
A second successful protest against Britannia would see the British disqualified from their next race.
The Brits are through to the Prada Cup final and the loss of a race in the jury room would be a disaster.
Ainslie aired his frustration with the situation after the stunning win over Luna Rossa on Saturday, which sent the British directly through to the challengers final on February 13 and left the Italians in a suddendeath semifinal against American Magic, starting on Friday.
‘‘It’s an interesting one the way rules came together for this Cup. Even if they find something that is not quite within the rules but is not performance enhancing, you get one strike. But the second time you get a DSQ,’’ Ainslie said.
‘‘In this game in the new class of boat, it’s a tricky one, as there is a grey area on how things are measured. We are obviously relying massively on the measurement team who scrutinise our boat before they give us certification for a round. But sometimes they miss something or sometimes a competitor asks a question about something they may have missed. So yeah, we are on one strike. Three weeks in, perhaps it’s time for the teams to say, let’s look at all our boats, and say it’s time for the teams to put up or shut up in terms of complaints.
‘‘To be DSQ’d for something non-performance isn’t the way to win.’’
The British didn’t lose any race points for their first discretion as it was deemed not to be performance enhancing. They copped a US$5000 fine but it was strike one and Ainslie knows that strike two means he is out of the next race, which could occur in the Prada Cup final.
It seems Ainslie has some sympathy, given the complexity of these boats in a design class that leaves itself open to innovations.
To get the rule reviewed – and changed – needs a heavyweight meeting of minds and agreement, something that isn’t always easy in the Cup game.
The measurement committee, regatta director Iain Murray, chief umpire Richard Slater, who oversees the racing rules of sailing, defender Emirates Team New Zealand, and challenger of record Luna Rossa would need to thrash it out around a table.
understands that will happen and there is some urgency on the matter.
There is a feeling that the rule may be too harsh when it involves tweaks that aren’t improving performance and some leeway should be given in that area to get the balance right between sensible innovations and blatant attempts to get an illegal advantage.
The British are under extreme scrutiny given the remarkable performance improvements they have managed with Britannia after the boat’s early struggles.
They haven’t been beaten since official racing started on January 15 and take massive momentum into the Prada Cup final.
understands Luna Rossa, under pressure with just two wins against American Magic and none against INEOS Team UK, have been relentless with their reconnaissance of Britannia every time it emerges from the shed.
With the current rule in play, they realise they have the means to halt the British charge through a successful protest that would result in a disqualification.
The Class Rule is a 71-page document and already the rules committee has had to produce decisions on 77 interpretations.