More plain sailing for Ainslie

BEN AINSLIE c o nt i nued hi s remarkable America’s Cup turnaround by leading Ineos Team UK to a third straight qualifying win in Auckland.

Ainslie’s British crew, who lost all their matches against the USA and Italy in the first round-robin regatta last month, went 3-0 up in the series in Waitemata Harbour after beating American Magic for the second time in two days. They finished an impressive four minutes and 59 seconds faster than the American crew in difficult conditions down to light winds.

‘Certainly a huge improvement from where we were three weeks ago,’ said skipper Ainslie. ‘We managed to muscle the boat around and get the win. We won the race in really tricky conditions.’

The four-time Olympic champion will take on the Italian boat Luna Rossa today to finish the series.

There are two more round-robin events to decide which of the three crews will challenge holders New Zealand for the 36th America’s Cup which begins on March 6.