Ben Ainslie said “something would have to give eventually” as Ineos Britannia and Luna Rossa once again shared the spoils on day four of an increasingly tense Louis Vuitton Cup final, leaving the first-to-seven series locked at 3-3.
A mistake by the Italians in the pre-start to race 5, losing control of their rudder and falling off their foils, allowed Ineos Britannia to establish a lead they never relinquished to go 3-2 up.
Ainslie’s crew did an excellent job of defending their lead in that race, getting their elbows out and making passing virtually impossible as they repeatedly ‘hit’ the Italians, tacking on them and making them sail through their dirt.
Luna Rossa hit back immediately, though, just as they did in Sunday’s wildly controversial second race. This time, it was far less dramatic. There were no protests, no near-collisions and, most importantly, no passing opportunities for Ineos once the Italians got their noses in front towards the top of the first beat, rounding the favoured right-hand mark just ahead of Ineos.
From there, they controlled the race expertly. Ineos repeatedly split the course, sailing 400m further overall, hoping for a wind shift in their favour, or a mistake from Luna Rossa. Neither was forthcoming.
What is it going to take to separate these teams? The two boats are so incredibly well-matched. In champagne conditions of 15-20 knots, Luna Rossa looked slightly quicker upwind on Monday, while Ineos looked fractionally faster downwind.
Unless someone makes a big step in performance, it is going to come down to fractions. A small mistake here, like Luna Rossa’s in the prestart to race five. A poor manoeuvre there, such as the round-up from Ineos in race 5 when a big slide at the bottom gate almost allowed Luna Rossa back in. A bit of bad luck there. An umpire’s 50-50 call. A poor choice of sail plan.
“Yeah, it’s the gift that just keeps on giving,” Ainslie reflected. “Two great teams. But at some point something is going to have to give.”
