Great Britain’s America’s Cup hopes take another hit as New Zealand go 3-0 up

Great Britain fell 3-0 behind New Zealand in the America’s Cup on Sunday before racing was abandoned because of low winds.

Sir Ben Ainslie’s Ineos Britannia boat had lost Saturday’s opening two races against holders Emirates Team New Zealand in Barcelona in the best-of-13 showdown.

And hopes of making up ground on Sunday suffered a setback as Ineos Britannia were landed with a 75-metre penalty for not keeping a clear distance as the boats jockeyed for position ahead of the start, with the foils nearly touching.

Peter Burling’s crew were able to make the most of their advantage to hold off the British challenge early on before pulling clear to cross some 52 seconds ahead.

“It was a little bit uncomfortable to be honest with how close the boats got,” Burling said.

“But the umpire obviously thought we were pretty clear there, so it was great to get the penalty and control the race from there.”

After issues with one of the batteries had made Ineos Britannia marginally late for entry into race one, it has been a frustrating couple of days for Ainslie’s team.

“It was close, I thought it was okay,” said four-time Olympic gold medal winner Ainslie of the incident at the start of race three. “But the umpires didn’t see it that way.”

As winds then fell below the 6.5 knot minimum requirement, the race committee announced there would be no more action on Sunday afternoon.

Race four has been rescheduled to Monday’s reserve slot, winds permitting.

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.

New Zealand, meanwhile, are seeking a third successive title.

Ainslie, who won the America’s Cup as part of Team USA in 2013, remains positive for the remainder of the competition.

“We just got to keep upbeat,” Ainslie said. “There is a long way to go in this competition, we just got to keep pushing.”