Britain is set to have two challengers for the next America’s Cup following a parting of the ways between INEOS Britannia and Sir Ben Ainslie.
INEOS and Sir Ben partnered in the last America’s Cup event hosted in Barcelona. Sir Ben and his crew overcame Italy in the Louis Vuitton Cup series to qualify for the main event and take on defenders Emirates Team New Zealand for the first time since 1964.
In a statement, INEOS has said it will enter a challenge for the 38th America’s Cup under the team name INEOS Britannia.
“Unfortunately, INEOS Britannia and Sir Ben could not find agreement on terms to move forward following the conclusion of the 37th America’s Cup in Barcelona,” said the statement.
“INEOS Britannia has appointed Dave Endean as CEO, who brings immense experience in sailing and the America’s Cup.”
This plan raises significant legal and practical obstacles for them that will play out in the coming days and weeks.
Sir Ben Ainslie
However, Sir Ben said he was ‘astounded’ at the news.
“The British Challenger for the 38th America’s Cup, led by Sir Ben Ainslie, was astounded to read today’s statement from INEOS and Mercedes F1 regarding their planned challenge for the 38th America’s Cup,” said Sir Ben’s statement.
“This plan raises significant legal and practical obstacles for them that will play out in the coming days and weeks.”
Sir Ben’s British America’s Cup team will be known as Athena Racing going forwards, aligning with the British Women’s and Youth America’s Cup team, the Athena Pathway.
Sir Ben signed on as the skipper of a British challenger in 2007 and in the last event hosted in Barcelona came the closest he had ever come to winning.
Great Britain’s Royal Yacht Squadron entered a challenge soon after the finish of the last race which the Barceona winners, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron accepted.
Benchmarks for British sailing
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, chairman of INEOS said: “I am enormously proud of what we achieved in Barcelona in developing a British boat that was truly competitive for the first time in decades.
“It set new benchmarks for British sailing, including winning the Louis Vuitton Cup for the first time, and taking races off the Defender in the finals for the first time in 90 years.
“We will now build upon this for the 38th America’s Cup through the INEOS challenge and already have 100 scientists and engineers working on the design of our AC38 yacht.”
INEOS says it will continue to build on the design and technology experience of the Mercedes F1 Team under the guidance of technical director, James Allison.
More details on the INEOS Britannia challenge will follow in due course.
