The race began with a slow start, as both boats gradually gained speed to pass the start line simultaneously. The UK team took an early lead on the first leg by 50 metres. The Italian team closed the gap and overtook the UK team before they reached the first gate. Just before passing the gate, Ineos regained the lead. The teams were racing at close to 37 knots, and at these speeds, the UK team reached the first gate in 3 minutes, 37 seconds, with the Italian team only 7 seconds behind.
The UK team maintained their lead throughout the leg to the second gate, passing Gate 2 at 6 minutes, 39 seconds. By this point, the Italians had fallen back, leaving an 8-second, 150-metre gap between the two boats.
Would this be the Italian team’s first loss of the competition?
As the teams charged forward, the Italians slipped back to a 170-metre gap behind the British. At this stage, the racing remained tight, with neither team willing to concede more ground than necessary. However, the Italians continued to fall behind as the race progressed.
The UK team rounded Gate 3 ahead of the Italians at 10 minutes, 46 seconds, with the Italian team reaching the gate 22 seconds later, the gap between the two boats widening.
The Italians dropped further behind, and as the teams approached the fourth gate, the UK team was 500 metres ahead. They rounded Gate 4 at 13 minutes, 43 seconds, with the Italians rounding the same gate 29 seconds later. The gap had grown by another 9 seconds compared to Gate 3. Anticipation was building; by all accounts, based on previous wins, Luna Rossa should have taken this race. Would they make a late charge to catch Ineos Britannia at the last minute?
The UK team held their lead, now over 400 metres, throughout leg 5 and passed through Gate 5 at 18 minutes, 20 seconds, heading into the final leg well ahead of the Italians. With the Italians 30 seconds behind, they had a lot of ground to make up to catch the UK team.
Then, the UK team hit a wave and took a massive dive. They weren’t down for long, only losing 2 seconds off their lead. In the end, it wasn’t even a close contest. The UK team won the race with a time of 21 minutes, 43 seconds.
The UK team performed well, as they needed to in order to stay competitive on the points table. The Italians uncharacteristically lost, finishing 25 seconds later.
Luna Rossa had already raced earlier in the day in similar conditions, winning convincingly against American Magic. Ineos Britannia had also raced earlier, securing victory against Alinghi. In these conditions, Ineos excelled, while Luna Rossa did not.
