Sir Ben Ainslie What he needs to achieve for America’s Cup glory
Tom Cary looks at where Land Rover BAR can gain an edge in the battle for the America’s Cup
Unlock the full potential of their boat
It is often said in the America’s Cup that “the fastest boat wins”. Less so than in Formula One perhaps, where it is 90 per cent car and 10 per cent driver. In the America’s Cup, due to the variables of the weather/wind/tides/tactics, it is more like 70 per cent boat, 30 per cent sailors. But still, more often than not the fastest boat wins. It is therefore critical that teams keep pushing to develop their boats throughout the Cup; the control systems on the boat (the so-called Human Machine Interface or HMI), foils, daggerboards and so on. This is a development race as much as an on-water race.
Master control of ‘flying’
In 2013, when Oracle Team USA memorably turned it around, coming from 8-1 down to win 9-8, in the end the boats were pretty evenly matched and it was the Americans’ mastery of their massive AC72 which swung it. The Kiwis got foiling first, but it was the Americans who eventually beat them at their own game, managing to control foiling upwind. The rate of improvement in the actual sailing of these boats over the next few weeks will be extraordinary. Ideally, teams want to be ‘flying’ on their foils from the word go, and do not want their hulls to touch the water again until they cross the finish line.
Win the starts
The starts are going to be dramatic if practice racing is anything to go by. Land Rover BAR, in particular, need to get them right as they are a little low on straight-line speed compared with their rivals. Their “love tap” (Sir Ben Ainslie’s description) on the Kiwi boat last week went down like a lead balloon in New Zealand, with some people even accusing the Brits of doing it on purpose. Basically, everyone is pushing to the limit and simultaneously finding out where the limits are. There will be more bumps and controversies over the next few weeks.
Get their tactics spot on
One of the keys to this Cup is going to be power – how quickly you can generate it and how efficiently you use it. The guys on the pedestals will be grinding furiously throughout the races, their heart rates above 150 beats per minute from start to finish. It is for this reason that the Kiwis have caused such a stir by putting their grinders on bicycles instead of traditional pedestals. If they can generate power faster than their rivals, in theory they will be able to perform more manoeuvres so, for instance, it will be interesting to see whether other teams avoid tacking duels with them.
Keep an eye on rivals
It is probably now just too late to be copying any new upgrades on your rivals’ boats. But that does not mean you cannot learn from what your rivals are doing, or analyse how they are sailing. Like a goalkeeper studying how strikers take penalties, teams can examine how their rivals typically perform at starts and then try to counter them. Or, perhaps, they will choose to sacrifice the potential power generated by their tactician on the handles in order to allow him more time to look up and analyse what is going on. Basically, give your ‘talent’ – your Lionel Messi – a free hand rather than forcing him to come back and defend.
Win the mental battle
It is clear that there is already a decent amount of niggle in the air. Jimmy Spithill, the Oracle Team USA skipper, threw a few early hand grenades in the direction of the New Zealanders and the Britons in Thursday’s press conference.
It is only going to get more heated from here on in. Land Rover BAR are in the firing line for goading.
They have definitely got up some noses; their victory in the America’s Cup World Series, their high media profile, the presence of ‘Sir Ben’ on the team… basically they have made a lot of noise and many of their rivals would enjoy a certain amount of schadenfreude should they falter now. They must get their heads down, stay positive, try to close that speed gap and then let their sailing do the talking.