For the third consecutive time, Emirates Team New Zealand, led by Matteo de Nora, member of Yacht Club de Monaco’s Management Committee, triumphed in the America’s Cup. For the Defender and its director, YCM member Grant Dalton, it was a resounding victory over Ineos Britannia of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, also a YCM member, during the final in Barcelona. A near-flawless performance saw the Kiwis retain the world’s oldest sporting trophy to secure their third victory in a row out of their total of five.
HSH Prince Albert II, President of YCM, Pierre Casiraghi, Vice-President, and Bernard d’Alessandri, General Secretary, were there watching the finals. “How proud we are to have two Club members in the final of this 37th America’s Cup,” said Bernard d’Alessandri. “I salute the determination of the Kiwis who remain the best team this event has ever known. But we should also highlight the talent on Ineos Britannia, Challenger of Record and winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup, who got closer to the Holy Grail with each stage”.
In the ninth race, Emirates Team New Zealand crossed the finish 500m ahead of their British opponents. A big win symbolised by a 37-second lead that put the seal on the score of 7-2 in this duel with Ineos Britannia. Throughout the competition, the New Zealanders were dominant despite a difficult day when they lost two races.
Led by an impressive pair of skippers in Peter Burling and Nathan Outteridge, the New Zealand team bounced back quickly to pull off a series of wins to take it to 6-2 before the final race on the Saturday. The British skippered by the legendary Ben Ainslie could not make up the deficit despite their most valiant efforts. “We’re going to keep on fighting, it’s not over yet,” Ainslie had promised on the Friday, but the Kiwis were just too strong.
