British sailing team
INEOS Britannia
is a British sailing team that is the challenger of record for the
37th America's Cup
.
The team was established in 2012 with the ambition of winning the
America's Cup
for Great Britain and to 'bring the cup home' to the United Kingdom. The team joined forces with
INEOS
in 2018. In 2021 the team challenged for the
36th America's Cup
in
Auckland, New Zealand
, representing the
Royal Yacht Squadron
.
The team is owned and backed by
INEOS
founder and chairman
Sir Jim Ratcliffe
and led by the most successful Olympic sailor of all time,
Sir Ben Ainslie
, who is team principal, CEO and skipper.
Formation and facilities
[
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]
In January 2012, Ben Ainslie announced the formation of a British team to compete in the America's Cup, called
Ben Ainslie Racing
(BAR). His team competed in the AC45 class for the remaining races of the
2011?13 America's Cup World Series
to develop experience and generate interest from sponsors.
[1]
The team was also known as J.P. Morgan BAR in this early period and competed for the
Royal Cornwall Yacht Club
.
[2]
In January 2014, Ainslie began the process of raising £100M to fund the team, as well as development of racing yachts which was projected to take 30% of the budget. The project was initially backed by 12 core supporters including
Sir Charles Dunstone
and
Sir Keith Mills
.
[3]
In December 2014 Ben Ainslie Racing and
Red Bull Advanced Technologies
(RBAT) announced that they would work together on the America's Cup project, with Formula One designer
Adrian Newey
leading RBAT's efforts regarding design and engineering.
[4]
J.P. Morgan
indicated that it was not planning to continue sponsorship and the team began the search for a new title sponsor.
[5]
In April 2014, as part of the launch of
Rear Admiral
Rob Stevens
's 'Transforming Solent' report, which makes 36 recommendations with 15 prioritised at an investment cost of £91M, Ainslie announced plans to build a team headquarters in the
Solent
area.
[6]
Having reviewed a number of sites, the project put forward plans to develop an operational building at
Camber Dock
, as part of the wider redevelopment of
Portsmouth Harbour
.
[7]
On 18 June, Portsmouth Council approved plans for the £12M main operations building, which Ainslie confirmed would be built subject to £8M of requested
UK Government
-backed development funding.
[8]
On 1 July 2014, in a meeting with Prime Minister
David Cameron
, central government funding of £7.5M towards the operational building's construction was confirmed, with construction reliant on final planning permission from the council and the project raising the additional required funds.
[9]
The operational building is also where the boats are designed and manufactured, and contains administration and full crew development facilities. The design was developed by HGP Architects,
[10]
which also designed the nearby
Spinnaker Tower
. The building was opened in June 2015 and featured approximately 400 solar panels generating 130MWh/y,
[11]
ventilation features and insulation to improve its sustainability.
[10]
In September 2018 it was announced
[12]
that sailing clothing brand
Henri Lloyd
would continue its long partnership with Sir Ben by supplying the kit for INEOS Team UK in the pursuit of the
36th challenge
of the
America's Cup
in 2021.
On 4 October 2021, the team announced a high-performance partnership with Mercedes-AMG F1 Applied Science, a division of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, bringing together the best of the worlds of high-performance marine and automotive engineering, with the goal to win the America's Cup for Britain.
The team is based in Brackley, home of the
Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team
.
James Allison
will be the technical lead of the team's
37th America's Cup
challenge in his capacity as Chief Technical Officer of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team and INEOS Britannia.
34th America's Cup
[
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]
2012-2013 Americas Cup World Series
[
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]
JP Morgan
BAR initially competed in the
2011?13 America's Cup World Series
competing in their AC45 catamaran. The team had excellent performance in two events in San Francisco but slipped to a surprise defeat in Naples in April 2013.
[13]
In August 2013, the competition jury received a report from
Oracle Team USA
that their boat and others they had loaned had unauthorised modifications.
[14]
Since they were using one of the out of measurement boats provided by Team Oracle USA, Ainslie withdrew his team from the competition on 7 August 2013. They denied that they had any prior knowledge that the boat was out of measurement, and were scored DSQ (disqualified) from the series.
[15]
In 2013, the team set a new multihull record of 2 hours 52 minutes 15 seconds for the
Round the Island Race
in their AC45.
34th America's Cup
[
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]
The team did not enter to compete in the
34th America's Cup
, with Ben Ainslie instead sailing as helm onboard
Oracle Team USA
's second
AC72
in the team's training programme ahead of the event. During the
34th America's Cup
match,
Oracle Team USA
were losing to
Emirates Team New Zealand
8?1. The American syndicate decided to replace tactician John Kostecki with Ainslie, and went on to win 10 consecutive race wins to win the America's Cup. Ben Ainslie was credited as one of the key reasons behind their famous comeback to win the America's Cup in 2013. Several of the team's other key sailors also competed for
Luna Rossa Challenge
in the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger selection series.
35th America's Cup
[
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]
Yachts
[
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]
Crew
[
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]
Sailor
|
Position
|
Ben Ainslie
|
Skipper
|
Giles Scott
|
Tactician
|
Paul Cambell-James
|
Mainsail Trimmer
|
Bleddyn Mon
|
Trimmer
|
Jonathan Macbeth
|
Grinder
|
Nick Hutton
|
Grinder
|
David Carr
|
Grinder
|
Neil Hunter
|
Grinder
|
Ed Powys
|
Grinder
|
2015-2016 Americas Cup World Series
[
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]
Following Ainslie's win representing the US, it was announced that Ben Ainslie Racing would challenge for the
35th America's Cup
in 2017. The team competed in the
2014 Extreme Sailing Series
, finishing 5th overall in the
Extreme 40
class catamaran.
The team raced in
2015-16 America's Cup World Series
in the AC45F catamaran class, winning events in
Portsmouth
,
Toulon
and
Fukuoka
to take the overall series win.
Louis Vuitton Cup
[
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]
In March 2015, former
McLaren
CEO
Martin Whitmarsh
was announced as Ben Ainslie Racing's CEO. In June 2015, Ben Ainslie announced a partnership with
Land Rover
and changed the team's name to Land Rover BAR.
The team's win in the
2015?16 America's Cup World Series
conferred points towards the
2017 Louis Vuitton Cup
in
Bermuda
, which began May 2017. The team was knocked out of the competition by New Zealand in the Challenger semi-final. The defeat was attributed simply to the greater speed of the opponent's boat.
Red Bull Youth Americas Cup
[
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]
Following the announcement that alongside the
35th Americas Cup
would be held the Red Bull Youth Americas Cup, Land Rover BAR launched the Land Rover BAR Academy in January 2016, with over 150 young British sailors under the age of 24 applying to be part of the team. Of these sailors, a team of sailors were selected. The squad trained and competed on a
GC32
Class
catamaran
in the
Extreme Sailing Series
in
2016
and
2017
, under the expert guidance of the team's senior sailors and coaches.
The team raced in
Bermuda
in the 2017 Red Bull Youth America's Cup in the
AC45
F foiling catamaran class, finishing in 1st place with 50 points, 2 points ahead of their nearest rivals from New Zealand. The team was credited with being the only team to race with a female sailor on board.
Qualifying Group A
|
|
Team
|
Skipper
|
Total Pts
|
1
|
Artemis Youth Racing
|
Rasmus Rosengren
|
55
|
2
|
SVB Team Germany
|
Paul Kohlhoff
|
47
|
3
|
Team Tilt
|
Sebastien Schneiter
|
46
|
4
|
Team France Jeune
|
Robin Follin
|
46
|
5
|
Youth Vikings Denmark
|
Daniel Bjørnholt
|
43
|
6
|
Kaijin Team Japan
|
Ibuki Koizumi
|
33
|
Qualifying Group B
|
|
Team
|
Skipper
|
Total Pts
|
1
|
NZL Sailing Team
|
Logan Dunning-Beck
|
51
|
2
|
Land Rover BAR Academy
|
Rob Bunce
|
51
|
3
|
Spanish Impulse
|
Jordi Xammar
|
51
|
4
|
Team BDA
|
MacKenzie Cooper
|
45
|
5
|
Next Generation USA
|
Carson Crain
|
36
|
6
|
Candidate Sailing Team
|
Lukas Hollwerth
|
36
|
Final
|
|
Team
|
Skipper
|
Total Pts
|
1
|
Land Rover BAR Academy
|
Rob Bunce
|
50
|
2
|
NZL Sailing Team
|
Logan Dunning-Beck
|
48
|
3
|
Team Tilt
|
Sebastien Schneiter
|
42
|
4
|
Artemis Youth Racing
|
Rasmus Rosengren
|
37
|
5
|
Team France Jeune
|
Robin Follin
|
35
|
6
|
Spanish Impulse
|
Jordi Xammar
|
34
|
7
|
SVB Team Germany
|
Paul Kohlhoff
|
33
|
8
|
Team BDA
|
MacKenzie Cooper
|
33
|
Crew
[
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]
Sailor
|
Position
|
Neil Hunter
|
Skipper
|
Rob Bunce
|
Skipper
|
Chris Taylor
|
Helm
|
Owen Bowerman
|
Helm
|
Annabel Vose
|
Tactician
|
Elliot Hanson
|
Mainsail Trimmer
|
Will Alloway
|
Mainsail Trimmer
|
Adam Kay
|
Trimmer
|
Oli Greber
|
Trimmer
|
Sam Batten
|
Trimmer
|
Extreme Sailing Series & GC32 Racing Tour
[
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]
Following on from Land Rover BAR Academy's success over the previous two years in the GC32 class, the team, newly sponsored by
INEOS
competed simultaneously in the
2018
Extreme Sailing Series
and the 2018 GC32 Racing Tour, both in the
hydro-foiling
GC32
Class
catamaran
class. The INEOS Rebels youth team finished in 4th place overall in the Extreme Sailing Series, whilst the senior INEOS Team UK team finished in 2nd place overall in the GC32 Racing Tour, with several event wins. Following the collapse of the Extreme Sailing Series at the end of 2018, the team began using their two GC32s for two boat training in preparation for their 36th America's Cup campaign.
GC32 Racing Tour 2018
|
|
Team
|
Skipper
|
Total Pts
|
1
|
Norauto
|
Franck Cammas
|
7
|
2
|
INEOS Team UK
|
Sir Ben Ainslie
|
17
|
3
|
Zoulou
|
Erik Maris
|
19
|
4
|
Realteam
|
Jerome Clerc
|
20
|
5
|
Argo
|
Jason Carroll
|
23
|
6
|
Frank Racing
|
Simon Hull
|
27
|
7
|
.film Racing
|
Simon Delzoppo
|
31
|
8
|
Codigo Rojo Racing
|
Frederico Ferioli
|
41
|
Sail GP
[
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]
On 26 November 2019,
SailGP
announced that
Ben Ainslie
would join the Great Britain SailGP Team as helm on the British
F50
foiling catamaran. The team announced title sponsorship from
INEOS
, with the sailing team made up of both existing SailGP GBR and INEOS Team UK sailors. The collaboration between the teams concluded at the end of 2020.
The team's first and only SailGP event was in
Sydney
in February 2020. Ainslie's crew won four of the five fleet races, before taking the win in the final race against
Tom Slingsby
's
Australian team
. The second round of the 2020 SailGP series was due to be held in
San Francisco
in May 2020,
[16]
however SailGP delayed the second season until 2021 due to the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic
, with points from the Sydney race removed from the championship.
[17]
Crew
[
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]
Results
[
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]
Pos
|
Team
|
SYD
[a]
|
Points
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
F
|
1
|
Great Britain
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
4
|
1
|
47
|
2
|
Australia
|
2
|
3
|
5
|
2
|
1
|
2
|
42
|
3
|
Japan
|
3
|
4
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
|
39
|
4
|
Spain
|
5
|
2
|
2
|
4
|
2
|
|
31
|
5
|
United States
|
4
|
6
|
4
|
5
|
5
|
|
31
|
6
|
Denmark
|
7
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
6
|
|
22
|
7
|
France
|
6
|
DNS
|
DNS
|
6
|
7
|
|
14
|
Citation:
[18]
|
|
Key
Colour
|
Result
|
1
|
Winner
|
2
|
Second place
|
3
|
Third place
|
4?7
|
Finish
|
DNF
|
Did not finish
|
DNS
|
Did not start
|
DSQ
|
Disqualified
|
WH
|
Withheld from racing
|
C
|
Race cancelled
|
|
36th America's Cup
[
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]
In 2018 it was announced that the team would join forces with INEOS and would challenge for the
36th America's Cup
in Auckland, New Zealand, as INEOS Team UK.
[19]
The team will race for Royal Yacht Squadron Racing.
The
INEOS
team boasts a world class sailing crew including Team Principal Skipper
Sir Ben Ainslie
and fellow Olympic Gold medallist
Giles Scott
. Combined, the team has 16 America's Cup wins and eight Olympic medals.
[20]
INEOS Team UK's leadership team includes four times Cup winner
Grant Simmer
as CEO
[21]
and Nick Holroyd, who was instrumental in bringing foiling technology into the Cup, as Chief Designer.
[22]
On 4 October 2019 INEOS Team UK launched their first America's Cup boat from their HQ in Portsmouth, naming her ‘Britannia’ in homage to one of Britain's most famous racing yachts, after over 90,000 design hours and 50,000 construction hours.
[23]
In January 2020 the team relocated to Cagliari,
Sardinia
, for a winter training camp with the team's first America's Cup boat.
[24]
In March 2020, however, due to the
COVID-19
global pandemic the team made the decision to withdraw all sailing operations from Sardinia and return to the UK.
[25]
In October 2020 the team relocated to Auckland for the 36th
America's Cup
[26]
and on 16 October the team launched their race boat for the 36th America's Cup, Britannia, a foiling monohull capable of estimated top speeds of over 50 knots (93 km/H, 57.5 MP/H) and a significant evolution from the team's first AC75 with noticeable changes to hull shape, deck layout and more.
[27]
Yachts
[
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]
Crew
[
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]
Sailor
|
Position
|
Sir Ben Ainslie
|
Skipper
|
Giles Scott
|
Tactician
|
Leigh Macmillan
|
Flight Controller
|
Luke Parkinson
|
Flight Controller
|
Bleddyn Mon
|
Mainsail Trimmer
|
Joey Newton
|
Trimmer
|
Nick Hutton
|
Trimmer
|
Richard Mason
|
Trimmer
|
Ben Cornish
|
Grinder
|
Chris Brittle
|
Grinder
|
David Carr
|
Grinder
|
Graeme Spence
|
Grinder
|
Matt Gotrel
|
Grinder
|
Neil Hunter
|
Grinder
|
Oli Greber
|
Grinder
|
Tim Carter
|
Grinder
|
2019-2020 America's Cup World Series
[
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]
Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
, the first two events in the
2019-20 America's Cup World Series
due to be held in
Cagliari
[28]
and
Portsmouth
[29]
were cancelled due to the
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports
. The four AC36 teams competed in the third and final ACWS event in
Auckland
in December 2020. INEOS Team UK struggled to keep their AC75 foiling during their manoeuvres, consequently ending the event with no wins, and in last place overall.
Prada Cup
[
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]
Following a disappointing performance in the Auckland ACWS event in December 2020, the team spent the following three weeks making modifications to their boat
Britannia
ahead of the start of the
Prada Cup
qualifying series. This included a new mast and sails as well as modifications to the hull and foils. The team received support from
INEOS
sponsored
Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team
.
INEOS Team UK dominated the Round Robin phase of the
Prada Cup
which saw them race and beat each of the two other challenger teams three times, securing their place in the
Prada Cup
Final beginning on 13 February 2021. The team's place in the Prada Cup final marked a significant point in their campaign, being the furthest any British challenge had progressed in the competition since the introduction of a challenger selection series.
After
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli
's win in the Prada Cup Semi-Finals against
American Magic
, the American team was eliminated from the event, securing the Italian team's place in the Prada Cup Final alongside INEOS Team UK.
The Prada Cup Finals were held in predominantly light wind (8-14 knots), with Luna Rossa showing great improvement in boat handling, winning the first 5 races consecutively. INEOS Team UK showed superior downwind pace in Race 6, taking their sole race win before
Luna Rossa
dominated Day 4 to take their sixth and seventh race win for the Prada Cup overall, and securing their place in the
36th America's Cup
Match against
Emirates Team New Zealand
.
Notes
[
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]
- ^
Although the first round in Sydney was successfully completed before the delay of the rest of the season, points scored were later removed from the championship.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Ainslie defends Oracle cup role
, Independent, 11 January 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- ^
World, Yachting (10 January 2012).
"Ainslie Reveals Cup Plans"
.
Yachting World
.
- ^
Ben Morris (14 February 2014).
"Olympic sailor looking for $100m"
. BBC News
. Retrieved
1 July
2014
.
- ^
"Ben Ainslie and Adrian Newey join forces in America's Cup bid"
.
The Guardian
. 4 December 2014
. Retrieved
3 January
2015
.
- ^
New title sponsor for British America's Cup push
, sportbusiness.com, 20 August 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- ^
"America's Cup HQ bid part of Solent recovery plan"
. BBC News. 15 April 2014
. Retrieved
1 July
2014
.
- ^
"Sir Ben Ainslie confirms America's Cup HQ Solent plan"
. BBC News. 10 May 2014
. Retrieved
1 July
2014
.
- ^
"Sir Ben's America's Cup Portsmouth HQ plans approved"
. BBC News. 18 June 2014
. Retrieved
1 July
2014
.
- ^
"Sir Ben Ainslie: America's Cup Portsmouth HQ gets £7.5m"
.
BBC News
. 1 July 2014
. Retrieved
1 July
2014
.
- ^
a
b
Sailing team HQ scoops BREEAM 'Excellent' rating
Archived
25 July 2016 at the
Wayback Machine
, Engineering and Technology Magazine, IET, 22 July 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- ^
"Case Study - Land Rover BAR"
. 20 September 2016.
- ^
"Henrilloyd"
. Archived from
the original
on 24 October 2018
. Retrieved
23 October
2018
.
- ^
Kate Laven,
Ben Ainslie in surprise defeat at America's Cup World Series in Naples
, The Telegraph, 21 April 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- ^
Gavin Clarke,
Oracle Team USA sailors admit breaking America's Cup rules
, The Register, 12 August 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- ^
America's Cup Jury,
Jury Notice JN096
, 8 August 2013
- ^
Warren, Adrian (29 February 2020).
"GB sink Australia's hopes in Sydney SailGP"
. 7 News Australia.
Archived
from the original on 4 January 2021
. Retrieved
4 March
2020
.
- ^
"SailGP Season 2 rescheduled for 2021"
.
SailGP
. 4 May 2020.
Archived
from the original on 6 May 2020
. Retrieved
20 August
2020
.
- ^
"SailGP Sydney Results"
.
SailGP
. 29 February 2020.
Archived
from the original on 18 March 2020
. Retrieved
20 August
2020
.
- ^
"INEOS TEAM UK officially challenge for the Auld Mug"
.
www.sail-world.com
. Retrieved
30 October
2020
.
- ^
"About INEOS TEAM UK"
.
www.ineosteamuk.com
. Retrieved
30 October
2020
.
- ^
"Meet the team | Grant Simmer"
.
www.ineosteamuk.com
. Retrieved
30 October
2020
.
- ^
"The Design View with Nick Holroyd"
.
www.ineosteamuk.com
. Retrieved
30 October
2020
.
- ^
Waller, Jon (25 October 2019).
"Sir Ben launches Britannia ? the America's Cup yacht he hopes will rule the waves"
.
Advertiser and Times
. Retrieved
30 October
2020
.
- ^
"Winter training camp in Cagliari begins"
.
www.ineosteamuk.com
. Retrieved
30 October
2020
.
- ^
"Ineos Team UK Statement"
.
www.ineosteamuk.com
. Retrieved
30 October
2020
.
- ^
"British America's Cup team relocating to Auckland"
.
AP NEWS
. 30 September 2020
. Retrieved
30 October
2020
.
- ^
"INEOS TEAM UK christen 'Britannia' - the boat the team will race in the America's Cup"
.
www.sail-world.com
. Retrieved
30 October
2020
.
- ^
"AMERICA'S CUP WORLD SERIES SARDEGNA ? CAGLIARI DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED"
. Americas Cup
. Retrieved
19 December
2020
.
- ^
"UPDATE ON EMIRATES AMERICA'S CUP WORLD SERIES PORTSMOUTH EVENT"
. Americas Cup
. Retrieved
19 December
2020
.
External links
[
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]