Percy goes way of Ainslie as Kiwis wrap up victory

British hopes at the 35th America’s Cup were ended yesterday as Sweden, led by two-time Olympic champion Iain Percy, were dumped out by New Zealand in the challenger play-off final.

Leading 4-2 at the start of the day, needing just one more race win to wrap up the first-to-five tie, the Kiwis achieved it at the second time of asking – the first attempt to hold a race having to be abandoned due to light winds. The 5-2 winning scoreline was the same as that over Sir Ben Ainslie’s British challenger in the semi-finals.

They very nearly had to wait another day to be sure of victory, though. The sight of the two boats crawling around the course in twoto-three knots of breeze yesterday, sailors lying on the trampoline, holding sails, only underlined the high-octane entertainment value to which America’s Cup fans have become accustomed over the past three weeks. When the racing did get going, though, New Zealand were imperious.

Having lost all six of their starts in the series with Sweden up until yesterday, New Zealand’s Peter Burling upped his pre-start game.

Sweden incurred a penalty in the first – aborted – race, allowing Burling to reach the first mark in the lead. And the Kiwi boat was again the fastest out of the blocks in the second race, establishing a lead which grew and grew, to almost a minute by the end.

“We had the configurations spoton,” Burling said. “The boat was going seriously fast. We feel like we’re in great shape to take on Oracle.”

The final, which begins on Saturday, is first to seven and will be bitterly contested given the drama four years ago, when the American boat came back from 8-1 down to win 9-8. New Zealand have since refused to join the other teams in talks about the future direction of the Cup. It is unclear what they would do with it if they won.