Spectacular first day of racing - huge crowds - sunshine, 35th Americas Cup, Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series Portsmouth, UK - NAANII GLOBAL Luxury/Quality Family Lifestyle MAGAZINE 'en Vogue' - NAANII GLOBAL Quality & Luxury Family Lifestyle - MAGAZINE 'en Vogue'-

The first official day of racing at the  saw huge crowds watching the action on the water as Groupama TEAM FRANCE  one the first race, and UK Sir Ben Ainslie's team Land Rover BAR won two out of the three races in the fabulous summer sunshine.

The official opening ceremony saw the six elite sailing teams from  New Zealand, UK, USA, France, Sweden and Japan, receiving a rapturous welcome from the crowds as they took to the main stage in the Race Village.
On the water, all the teams will want to put points on the board, Land Rover BAR, the home team, Artemis Racing with new helmsman (Francesco Bruni) and Emirates Team New Zealand with (Glenn Ashby), defender of the Americas Cup   ORACLE TEAM USA, Groupama Team France, led by Franck Cammas and the japanese Team Softbank Team Japan led by Dean Barker.

Speaking before the three official races began on Saturday, Sir Ben Ainslie said: "Other than actually winning the America's Cup, this is by far and away the biggest deal for us. Winning last year in front of guys was incredible for all of us. That's why we compete; we want to do it in front of our home crowd. It looks like great racing and we're going for it!"

The thousands of visitors enjoyed the interactive activities in the Race Village, including the 45ft Royal Navy climbing wall, the awesome Blokart land yachts, circus skills and the Tech Zone, featuring an AC45 catamaran used by the sailors and the grinding challenge proving popular with both the sailors and the public. The Blades aerobatic team put on a stunning aerial display at 12pm and racing then kicked off at 1.30pm.

The first race proved to be a tough start for Land Rover BAR, with a photo finish seeing them end in fifth place. Sir Ben said: "It was very tight racing in quite light and difficult winds. We got caught out in the first race. We were in a strong position and then got stuck with Japan and both of us sailed ourselves to the back of the fleet from second and third which was really frustrating."


The team regrouped and then stormed to victory in races two and three to applause and cheers from the home crowds waving Union Jack flags. Land Rover BAR wing trimmer Paul 'CJ' Campbell-James said: "It is absolutely amazing looking towards the shore and seeing that many Union Jacks and hearing the cheers! It really pumps us up and we end pulling the ropes a bit harder and turning the drums a bit faster."

The racing action continues tomorrow and points are doubled on 'Super Sunday'. 'CJ' added: "There is even more at stake tomorrow and we just need to build on the momentum that we had today. Morale is really high and hopefully we can pull out all the stops tomorrow."

The Race Village will be open from 10.15am for todays final day of racing, sunday, in the Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series Portsmouth.

Results Saturday:
Race 1:
1  Groupama Team France, 10
2  ORACLE TEAM USA, 9
3  Emirates Team New Zealand, 8
4  SoftBank Team Japan, 7
5  Land Rover BAR, 6
6  Artemis Racing, 5

Race 2:
1  Land Rover BAR, 10
2  ORACLE TEAM USA, 9
3  SoftBank Team Japan, 8
4  Groupama Team France, 7
5  Artemis Racing, 6
6  Emirates Team New Zealand, 5

Race 3:
1  Land Rover BAR, 10
2  Groupama Team France, 9
3  SoftBank Team Japan, 8
4  Emirates Team New Zealand, 7
5  Artemis Racing, 6
6  ORACLE TEAM USA, 5

Portsmouth 2016 allover results day 1:
1 Land Rover BAR, 26
2 Groupama Team France, 26
3 SoftBank Team Japan, 23
4 ORACLE TEAM USA, 23
5 Emirates Team New Zealand, 20
6 Artemis Racing, 17

 

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