By Mal Butler
The Ineos Britannia sailing team, which was skippered by Ben Ainslie at the last America’s Cup, has abandoned its challenge for the 38th running of the event.
The four-time Olympic champion helped the British boat reach its first final since 1964 in Barcelona last year, but then split with Ineos in January and joined Athena Racing.
Ineos, owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, also co-owner of Manchester United FC, had planned to compete under the Britannia name, but blamed Ainslie’s Athena Racing team for their withdrawal.
In February, Athena Racing claimed it was the official Challenger of Record for the event, and said the Ineos plans to race under the Britannia name raised “significant legal and practical obstacles”.
In a statement this week, Ineos said: “The agreement that had been reached with Athena would have allowed both parties to compete in the next Cup, but it depended on a rapid resolution.
“Ineos Britannia had agreed the substantive terms very quickly, but Athena failed to bring the agreement to a timely conclusion.
“Ineos Britannia is of the opinion that this six-month delay has undermined its ability to prepare for the next cup, and so has, reluctantly, withdrawn its challenge.”
Ratcliffe, chairman of Ineos, added: “This was a very difficult decision to have taken following our challenge at the last two America’s Cups.
“We were the most successful British challenger in modern times with an exceptionally quick boat and we felt, with the very effective input from the Mercedes F1 engineers, that we had a real chance to win at the next Cup. Unfortunately, the opportunity has slipped away.”
Athena Racing has yet to comment.
Isle of Wight Observer