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Source: Steve Todd, Shutterstock
Summary
- Team NZ holds fort at the America’s Cup for the 4th consecutive year.
- The UK team has been confirmed as a challenger for the next leg of the event.
- Team NZ to be awarded NZ$5M, talks about the event’s venue next time.
Team UK has been confirmed as a challenger for the America’s Cup and is to work side by side with the reigning champion Kiwi team. The neck-and-neck competition was won by New Zealand, despite the tough competition rendered by Italy’s Luna Rossa team. For the next cycle of the tournament, it has been confirmed that the team led by Sir Ben Ainslie together with Sir Jim Ratcliffe is going to replace Luna Rossa.
Even though an official statement is yet to be made, it has been confirmed that the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron had taken up the challenge and the same had been discussed at the NZ team headquarters on Wednesday. There is hardly an element of surprise here because both the teams, the UK and NZ, have been close in the past and the partnership can prove to be fruitful.
New Zealand to host Next America’s Cup?
In another announcement, the New Zealand Government is to award a sum of NZ$5M to the local team after the title victory. Stuart Nash, the minister looking after the affairs of America’s Cup, revealed that the government wanted to ensure that the team stayed intact. There are, however, certain expectations from the situation. Having the event in New Zealand next time is one of them. This is because it would be pointless to spend taxpayers’ money if the event is not going to be held close to home.
What did Luna Rossa’s boss Max Sirena has to say?
According to Max Sirena, the Luna Rossa Boss, said he thought it wasn’t possible to beat New Zealand in the race today. Team NZ’s prestigious boat, the AC75 boat, Te Rehutai, is known to be the best in the league and close to unbeatable. Sirena further said that he had believed that the team could gain a lead on TNZ because it had been a little out of practise during the event. A few opportunities that were lost by Luna Ross right at the beginning of the game were the ones that made the difference for New Zealand.
Expressing gratitude over competing with one of the best teams in the America’s Cup history, Sirena said he had an idea TNZ would get better through the course of the series, because that was a long one. Team NZ has a fast boat and strategies that were better, leading to their win.