Sir Ben Ainslie faces agony of America’s Cup bid with Ineos Team UK ending without another race due

Sir Ben Ainslie faces the potential agony of seeing his America’s Cup bid end without being able to race again, after a Covid row thrust the event into turmoil.

Ainslie’s Ineos Team UK are 4-0 down in the first-to-seven Prada Cup final, the series that determines whether they or Italian Luna Rossa compete against holders Team New Zealand for sailing’s greatest prize, the ‘Auld Mug’, in the 36th America’s Cup next month.

Races five and six were due to be held on Wednesday but a Covid lockdown in Auckland resulted in the organisers, America’s Cup Event Ltd (ACE), postponing the action.

Sir Ben Ainslie’s Ineos Team UK face the potential agony of seeing their America’s Cup bid end

And, in a dramatic intervention, Luna Rossa made it clear that if the remaining races are not completed by next Wednesday, they will automatically be victorious — eliminating Ainslie’s yacht, Britannia, on the spot.

Luna Rossa’s hand is strong: they are the ‘Challenger of Record’ — the one foreign yacht club allowed to challenge the ‘defender’ and agree the terms of the match.

ACE are talking about a restart a week Friday, a delay they hope would allow fans to attend en masse. 

But Luna Rossa say such an interruption would be a ‘total breach of the regulations’, pointing out that both boats are practising anyway and most sport is currently being staged without spectators.

Luna Rossa propose a resumption on Friday.

The British team have no direct part in the decision-making process, but they said: ‘The Prada Cup final should be decided on the water in the agreed format of first to seven.’

Races five and six were supposed to take place on Wednesday but were unable to take place