INEOS Britannia co-helm Dylan Fletcher says that the Louis Vuitton Cup final series pushed the British squad and boat harder than they could ever have imagined – but that they still have a few tricks up their sleeve ahead of racing Defenders Emirates Team New Zealand in the America’s Cup Match, which starts on October 12.

The Louis Vuitton Cup final series saw the British and Italian teams racing in everything from zephyr light conditions that ultimately saw racing cancelled, to strong Garbi winds which pushed the boats to the limits of their design margins, as well as a decisive day of mid-range wind strengths with intimidating sea states.

As preparation for the big test – racing Defenders Emirates Team New Zealand – has the punch-for-punch series been valuable for the British squad?

“Obviously, you always want an easy run in. We’d have rather won seven races in a row. But I guess this has probably been a blessing in disguise in terms of being pushed so hard by the Italians,” says Fletcher.

“Just six weeks ago, we raced [Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli] in the practice racing before the prelims, and they absolutely destroyed us in 15 to 18 knots. So to have turned the performance around on Britannia and to be there racing so close with them is great. And on the starts, they pushed us incredibly hard.

Fully loaded: INEOS Britannia hit over 55 knots on Day 5 of the Louis Vuitton Cup Final. Photo: Ian Roman / America’s Cup

“So I think it’s put us in good stead for the Kiwis. We’ve been watching them training on their own, and they’re pushing hard, but it certainly feels like we’ve been pushed harder than we’ve ever sailed the boat before.

“And we’ve seen that with things like we did 55 and a half knots the other day – which is something that we didn’t know that was actually possible from Britannia!”

The British squad has always been bullish about the fact that while their muscular AC75 design was not the fastest out of the blocks, they were confident they would maximise more and more of its potential as the competition went on. So far, that plan seems to be working.

“We’ve had a good programme from the development point of view, and we still have a few things left in our pocket.

“It’s always that balancing act with the America’s Cup, how much do you bring for the final, and how much do you wait and try and develop as late as possible for the Cup match?

“So I guess at this point, it feels like we picked to keep the right balance because we got that win against Luna Rossa and we know we’ve got some things to provide us some more performance ahead of the Cup next weekend.”

Confirmation that Fletcher (left) would co-Skipper Britannia alongside Ainslie (right) came fairly late in the day. Photo: Ian Roman / America’s Cup

The weight of expectation

Fletcher, who was announced as co-helm of INEOS Britannia on the eve of the Preliminary Regatta, says that the team approached today’s historic race just like any other.

“Honestly, it felt the same as the rest of the races with Luna Rossa. They’ve been incredibly close, as I’m sure you’ve seen, and the margins are super fine. You can see that both boats have a bit of a pattern, and we’re both good at what we’re good at. So for us, it was nice to deliver a good start and control the race from there.

“They definitely got close. There was a good shift for them at the bottom mark when we chose the right turn, which was the biased mark. But they got a good shift in really difficult conditions today – it was a bit colder and a lot more unstable compared to what you’d expect from that wind direction. I guess we got into position nicely from there to control it.

“But they’re an incredibly good team. We lost to them last time around in the Louis Vuitton final. So it feels a bit deserved to get one over them this time and finally be in that America’s Cup match.”

At what point did he relax? “Once we crossed the finish line, not until then.

“I guess it’s easy to see how the boats kind of look on rails. But in reality, they’re incredibly hard to sail and it only takes one of the eight people to make a mistake and we can be off the foils. And that could be the end of the race for us.

“So we’d got our foot down and pushing hard. But yeah, an amazing feeling once we finally crossed that finish line.

Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli leads INEOS Britannia back to the startline durning Louis Vuitton Cup racing. Photo: Ricardo Pinto / America’s Cup

“We were just really happy we got to deliver as we have done in the last few races. And happy for the team to be in the Cup final after a 60-year drought for Great Britain.”

The celebrations at the INEOS Britannia base in Barcelona were in full swing this afternoon, but the Challenger of Record has just seven days to prepare for the biggest fight of their lives.

“I think we’ll probably have a day off, but in reality, probably not more than that.

“It’s certainly at this stage of the game, we’ve just got to keep our foot down, keep pushing hard, and make sure that we’re firing next weekend. I’m looking forward to the challenge ahead.”

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