Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers & Challenger Playoffs in Bermuda 26th May – 12th June 2017

Hamilton, Bermuda (June 12, 2017)

The drama of the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Challenger Finals carried through a delay-plagued day to see Peter Burling’s Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) win the first scheduled race to close out the series 5-2 against Nathan Outteridge’s Artemis Racing (SWE).

The deciding race was a do-over after the first attempt at race seven was abandoned when the 25 minute limit expired. That race got underway in 7 knots, where it was all New Zealand as they won the start after the Swedes were OCS, extending quickly until the wind dramatically dropped on the ensuing upwind leg. The Swedes closed at the upwind gate but copped another penalty, with both teams drifting downwind as the Great Sound glassed off and time ran out.

After an hour’s delay, the stormy skies cleared with winds returning to 7 knots for the start to get underway just minutes before the deadline. Another good start by the Kiwis saw them leverage their leeward position to an insurmountable 56 second lead at the finish. The Kiwis certainly had no peer in the low winds, easily staying on their foils through maneuvers and showing a speed edge up and downwind.

“It’s all the little things we’ve been working on,” noted Burling regarding his team’s performance. “We came here to bring the Cup home, and along the way we had to overcome a lot of adversity. The Challenger series really pushed us, and I am proud with how we responded. We’re feeling ready now to take on the Defender.”

Outteridge was graceful in defeat. “Of course it’s disappointing but hats off to New Zealand. Given the forecast, we knew they’d be tough today. We couldn’t change that but we did what could on our boat this morning. Then when they
got the start to leeward, the trouble began.”

The final stage of the 35th America’s Cup will commence on June 17 with Jimmy Spithill’s Oracle Team USA lining up against the Emirates Team New Zealand, a rematch of the Final in 2013 which saw the Kiwis build an 8-1 lead, only to see the Defender win 9 straight races to take the trophy.

Overall Results: (Winner is first team to 5)
Emirates Team New Zealand (5) vs Artemis Racing (2)

The Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Match (June 17 to 25, 2017):
Oracle Team USA will take on the best Challenger, with the winner of the 35th America’s Cup to be the first team to claim seven points. The caveat is if one of these two teams had previously won the Qualifiers (first stage), the opposing team will begin this Match with a one point disadvantage (i.e. minus 1), meaning they will need to win eight races while the advantaged team must win seven races. As Oracle Team USA did in fact win the Qualifiers, the Defender effectively begins the series with a one point advantage.
Source: Scuttlebutt / ACEA

Hamilton, Bermuda (June 11, 2017)
Oracle Team USA will take on the best Challenger, with the winner of the 35th America’s Cup to be the first team to claim seven points. The caveat is if one of these two teams had previously won the Qualifiers (first stage), the opposing team will begin this Match with a one point disadvantage (i.e. minus 1), meaning they will need to win eight races while the advantaged team must win seven races. As Oracle Team USA did in fact win the Qualifiers, the Defender effectively begins the series with a one point advantage.
Source: Scuttlebutt / ACEA

Hamilton, Bermuda (June 11, 2017)
The Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Challenger Finals
Overall Results: Emirates Team New Zealand (4) vs Artemis Racing (2)

Hamilton, Bermuda (June 10, 2017)
The Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Challenger Finals
Overall Results: Emirates Team New Zealand (2) vs Artemis Racing (1)

Hamilton, Bermuda (June 9, 2017)
The Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Challenger Playoffs
Overall Results: (Winner is first team to 5)
Emirates Team New Zealand (5) vs Land Rover BAR (2) – WINNER: Emirates Team New Zealand
SoftBank Team Japan (3) vs Artemis Racing (5) – WINNER: Artemis Racing

Hamilton, Bermuda (June 8, 2017)
The Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Challenger Playoffs
Overall Results: (Winner is first team to 5)
Emirates Team New Zealand (5) vs Land Rover BAR (2) – WINNER: Emirates Team New Zealand
SoftBank Team Japan (3) vs Artemis Racing (4)

Hamilton, Bermuda (June 7, 2017)
The Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Challenger Playoffs
The rules of the 35th America’s Cup state the winds need to fit between 6 and 24 knots, and the habits of the Atlantic Ocean kept the four Challenger teams ashore today as conditions exceeded the upper limit.

Hamilton, Bermuda (June 6, 2017)
The Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Challenger Playoffs
Overall Results:
Emirates Team New Zealand (3) vs Land Rover BAR (1)
SoftBank Team Japan (3) vs Artemis Racing (1)

Hamilton, Bermuda (June 5, 2017)
The Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Challenger Playoffs
The second stage of competition in the 35th America’s Cup got underway today with clear skies and ideal winds in the mid-teens as the top four Challengers met on day one of the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Challenger Playoffs. Land Rover BAR retired from first race due to damage and had to concede the second race.
Overall Results:
Emirates Team New Zealand (2) vs Land Rover BAR (0)
SoftBank Team Japan (1) vs Artemis Racing (1)

Hamilton, Bermuda (June 4, 2017)
The Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Challenger Playoffs
America’s Cup Challenger Playoffs postponed. The beautiful Bermudian sunshine was out in full force for Sunday’s scheduled first set of races in the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Challenger Playoffs, but unfortunately the required winds for racing were not. The Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Challenger Playoff starts June 4th . Emirates Team New Zealand have decided to take on Land Rover BAR as their opposition in the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Challenger
Playoffs semi-finals. The schedule will be:
Race 1: Emirates Team New Zealand vs Land Rover BAR
Race 2: Artemis Racing vs SoftBank Team Japan
Race 3: Emirates Team New Zealand vs Land Rover BAR
Race 4: Artemis Racing vs SoftBank Team Japan

The Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Challenger Playoffs : From June 4 to 12 – the Defender now gets out of the way, with the top four Challengers split into two Semi-Finals (best of 9) with the winner of each match to meet in the Final (best of 9) to determine who will take on Defender in the America’s Cup Match.

Hamilton, Bermuda (June 3, 2017)
ORACLE TEAM USA Wins Qualifiers
The Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers concluded today with the Defenders of the ‘Auld Mug’
ORACLE TEAM USA beating Emirates Team New Zealand and clinching the crucial top spot in the final leaderboard. That gives the US team a point in the America’s Cup Match, presented by Louis Vuitton, the final round of the events taking place in Bermuda.
Overall Standings:
ORACLE TEAM USA (USA), 8-2 – 9 pt (1 pt from ACWS)
Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), 8-2 – 8 pt
Land Rover BAR (GBR), 4-6 – 6 pt (2 pt from ACWS)
Artemis Racing (SWE), 5-5 – 5 pt
SoftBank Team Japan (JPN), 3-7 – 3 pt
Groupama Team France (FRA), 2-8 – 2 pt
Hamilton, Bermuda (June 2, 2017)
The Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers
Overall Standings:
Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), 8-1 – 8 pt
ORACLE TEAM USA (USA), 6-2 – 7 pt (1 pt from ACWS)
Land Rover BAR (GBR), 3-5 – 5 pt (2 pt from ACWS)
Artemis Racing (SWE), 4-5 – 4 pt
SoftBank Team Japan (JPN), 3-6 – 3 pt
Groupama Team France (FRA), 2-7 – 2 pt

Hamilton, Bermuda (June 1, 2017)
The Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers
After yesterday’s postponement due to light winds, the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers returned today to the Great Sound with just enough wind to complete the four matches scheduled. Overall Standings:
ORACLE TEAM USA (USA), 6-1 – 7 pt (1 pt from ACWS)
Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), 6-1 – 6 pt
Land Rover BAR (GBR), 3-5 – 5 pt (2 pt from ACWS)
SoftBank Team Japan (JPN), 3-4 – 3 pt
Artemis Racing (SWE), 2-5 – 2 pt
Groupama Team France (FRA), 2-6 – 2 pt

Hamilton, Bermuda (May 31, 2017)
The Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers
Mother Nature has proved that she is the only force that can beat the collective might of the America’s Cup teams. She delayed day one of racing with excessive winds, and she returned today with winds that proved to be too light.

An announcement today by the America’s Cup Event Authority (ACEA) and America’s Cup Race Management (ACRM) confirmed that the four scheduled Round Robin 2 Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers races planned today would have to wait until tomorrow. When velocity is outside the 6 to 24 knot wind range, racing is postponed, which has thus far occurred on two of the six scheduled race days.

Hamilton, Bermuda (May 30, 2017)
The Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers
The second round robin of the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers began today, which will see each of the six teams competing against each other one last time to determine the top four challengers that will advance to the next stage. Three of the 15 matches were held today.
Overall standings:
ORACLE TEAM USA (USA), 5-1 – 6 pt (1 pt from ACWS)
Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), 5-1 – 5 pt
Land Rover BAR (GBR), 2-4 – 4 pt (2 pt from ACWS)
Artemis Racing (SWE), 2-5 – 2 pt
SoftBank Team Japan (JPN), 2-3 – 2 pt
Groupama Team France (FRA), 2-4 – 2 pt

Hamilton, Bermuda (May 29, 2017)
The Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers
Overall standings:
ORACLE TEAM USA (USA), 4-1 – 5 pt (1 pt from ACWS)
Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), 4-1 – 4 pt
Land Rover BAR (GBR), 1-4 – 3 pt (2 pt from ACWS)
Artemis Racing (SWE), 2-3 – 2 pt
SoftBank Team Japan (JPN), 2-3 – 2 pt
Groupama Team France (FRA), 2-3 – 2 pt

Hamilton, Bermuda (May 28, 2017)
The Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers
Overall standings:
ORACLE TEAM USA, 4-1 – 5 pts (1 pt from ACWS)
Emirates Team New Zealand, 3-1 – 3 pts
Land Rover BAR, 1-3 – 3 pts (2 pt from ACWS)
Artemis Racing, 2-2 – 2 pts
SoftBank Team Japan, 1-3 – 1 pts
Groupama Team France, 1-2 – pts

Hamilton, Bermuda (May 27, 2017)
The Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers
The Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers got underway today with six matches that begin the double round-robin stage to determine the top four challengers to advance to the next stage.
Overall standings:
ORACLE TEAM USA 2-0
Artemis Racing 1-1
Emirates Team New Zealand 1-1
Land Rover BAR 1-1
SoftBank Team Japan 1-1
Groupama Team France 0-2

The Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers: From May 27 to June 3, all six America’s Cup teams – will compete in a double round robin match race series where each competitor races every other team twice – a total of ten races each. Wins earn one point, and the four Challengers with the most points advance to the next round. As the top two teams from the 2015-16 America’s Cup World Series, Land Rover BAR and Oracle Team USA gained an advantage of 2 points and 1 point respectively going into the AC Qualifiers.

Hamilton, Bermuda (May 26, 2017)
Opening Day postponed until Saturday, May 27th
The America’s Cup Event Authority (ACEA) and America’s Cup Race Management (ACRM) announced that the strong winds in Bermuda has meant that day one of the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers and the Official Opening Ceremony of the 35th America’s Cup has had to be postponed. Forecasts indicate that winds may gust over 30 knots during the afternoon and evening, so with the safety of the sailors and spectators as the key priority, ACEA and ACRM have decided to postpone Friday’s events. Saturday, 27th and the days following are all forecast to have significantly improved weather conditions, so the four races scheduled to take place on Friday, 26th will now be added to the race schedules for the subsequent days.

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