Aerial shots of the last practice session before the start of the 35th America's Cup show the teams are pushing hard ahead of the first Round Robin matches
The last practice session is over and now the six teams just have to wait until the start of the 35th America’s Cup.
The first Round Robin matches will begin tomorrow (27 May) on the Great Sound in Bermuda.
Racing had to be postponed a day due to forecasted strong winds of more than 30 knots. The raceable limit is between 6-24 knots.
The America’s Cup Event Authority (ACEA), and America’s Cup Race Management (ACRM) said the decision was made with the safety of the teams and spectators in mind.
Weather conditions are expected to improve significantly tomorrow (27 May), and the four races scheduled to take place today will now be added to the race schedules for the subsequent days.
Commenting on the postponement, the CEO of the ACEA, Russell Coutts, said it was a decision that had not been “taken lightly”.
“Our primary concern however, is always safety for everyone involved in the America’s Cup. We are adding an hour to the race window on both Saturday and Sunday to run extra races with the aim of getting back on schedule,” explained Coutts.
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For the teams, it is a frustrating delay after years of build-up.
Following the final practice race, the skipper and helmsman of Land Rover BAR, Ben Ainslie tweeted that both the boat and team are “feeling good” about the battle ahead.
He has publicly stated that “An America’s Cup victory in our first attempt would be historic!”
While the team’s wing trimmer, Paul Campbell-Jones, commented: “One of the best sails we’ve had…. absolutely smoking”.
The first Round Robin matches will start at 6pm GMT.
The first match is between ORACLE TEAM USA and Groupama Team France.
Land Rover BAR face Artemis Racing.