Team NZ beats BAR to make challengers final

WELLINGTON: Team New Zealand has sailed into the America’s Cup challengers final in Bermuda after accounting for Ben Ainslie Racing 52.

The Kiwi syndicate won two of the three races yesterday to clinch the semifinal, having held a 31 lead in the bestoffive series.

Its opponent for the bestofnine final starting tomorrow will be either Artemis Racing or Team Japan, skippered by New Zealander Dean Barker.

Artemis Racing led the other semifinal 43 after winning the three races yesterday.

The official twitter account of Team NZ thanked BAR for ‘‘a great battle’’.

Team NZ ensured the semifinal would not stretch into another day when it sailed clear to dominate race seven, winning by 46sec.

Unlike the first two races yesterday, helmsman Peter Burling won the start and his crew never gave Ainslie a lookin as Team NZ extended its lead over the seven legs.

Encouragingly for Team NZ, its AC50 catamaran was functioning smoothly following repairs needed after its dramatic pitchpole incident.

‘‘Full credit to our shore crew and everyone who pitched in just to get us back out here and get the boat pretty much working 100%,’’ Burling said. ‘‘In that second race we missed a few shifts and were too conservative at the start.

‘‘In the third race we knew what we had to do.’’

It marks a disappointing end to the British challenge headed by Olympic great Ben Ainslie, which was highly fancied after winning the cup’s world series, contested over the past two years.

It lacked the speed to match a Team NZ syndicate which shook off the capsize in race four two days earlier.

Ainslie said his team improved across the regatta but left its run too late.

‘‘We struggled coming into this with a lack of speed for a number of different reasons,’’ he said.

‘‘The whole team has dug so deep to get us more competitive, to the point where there wasn’t a lot of difference between the teams today.’’

Fans all over the world have taken to social media to congratulate Team New Zealand on its win, but have warned that the job is not yet done. — NZN

PHOTO: RICARDO PINTO Sailing away . . . Team New Zealand (right) leads Ben Ainslie Racing during the seventh race of their America’s Cup challenger semifinal in Bermuda yesterday.