Sir Ben Ainslie’s bid to end Great Britain’s 173-year wait to win the America’s Cup got off to frustrating start in Barcelona.
Ainslie’s Ineos Britannia boat trailed holders Emirates Team New Zealand 2-0 in the best-of-13 showdown.
A British boat has never won the America’s Cup but Ainslie’s crew overcame Italy 7-4 in the Louis Vuitton Cup series to qualify for the showpiece event for the first time since 1964.
But New Zealand, seeking a third win in a row, laid down a marker with victory in the opening two races.
Ainslie and co-helm Dylan Fletcher suffered a nightmare start when an equipment failure made them marginally late for entry into race one.
“There were a few little issues with one of the batteries which put us on the back foot slightly,” revealed coach Rob Wilson as the race quickly got away from Ineos Britannia.
They trailed their opponents by 24 seconds after leg one, brought the deficit down to 15 seconds during leg two before a strong upwind third leg saw New Zealand lead by 36 seconds.
New Zealand, led by skipper Peter Burling, at one stage held a 670-metre advantage and eventually came home 41 seconds ahead, but Ainslie played down his team’s misfortune at the start.
“We didn’t have the perfect entry to the race, but the guys did a good job to recover from that and keep calm,” he said on TNT Sports.
“We were in a half-decent spot on the start line, it was just dependent on where the breeze went from there and the Kiwis did a good job. It wasn’t that we did a lot wrong, they just put in a good race.”
Ineos Britannia got the better of a cat-and-mouse start to race two, but at the end of a tight first leg the 2017 and 2021 winners were 11 seconds ahead.
The lead changed hands during the downwind second leg, with Ineos Britannia twice protesting close crosses from New Zealand, but the umpires judged the boats were far enough apart.
By halfway the New Zealand lead was only 10 seconds, but the trailing boat could not recover any more ground and they came home 27 seconds adrift.
“Obviously it’s not the start we were looking for, but credit to the Kiwis,” said Ainslie.
“For us, a few things we obviously need to work on and we couldn’t quite match them round the track.
“But I’m confident the team can work it out and we can come back tomorrow and get some scores on the board.”
In between races one and two there was disappointment for Great Britain in the inaugural Women’s America’s Cup.
Hannah Mills and her crew on Athena Pathway were edged out by just eight seconds by the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team from Italy.
“It’s been a long, amazing campaign, we’ve put so much into it and I’m so proud of the team,” said Mills.
“I’m gutted not to have delivered today, but for the sport of women’s sailing and for all the young girls watching, it’s going to be your turn next.”