Crowds fill Navy Pier in Chicago/Photo – Ricardo Pinto/ACEA 2016
After an exciting Super Sunday of racing, Artemis Racing win the regatta with 61 points, followed by Land Rover BAR with 58 and SoftBank Team Japan with 56 points. It’s the first time SoftBank is at the podium (in the top three) in the 2015-16 Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series. Skipper Nathan Outteridge led the Swedes in this well-deserved victory.
Photo – Ricardo Pinto/ACEA
They seemed to sail perfectly in the seven leg races, despite near collisions, penalties and what looked like drag racing all around them. Artemis Racing steered clear of the crowds most of the time and maintained a steady course.
The Sperry Play of the Day on Super Sunday is Artemis Racing’s spectacular win in Race 3 of the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series Chicago. They had strong placement in the other three races – two 2nd place wins and one 4th place, which helped secure the weekend win. This is Artemis Racing’s first event win since the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series Bermuda in 2015.
Photo- Ricardo Pinto/ACEA 2016
SoftBank Team Japan, the newest team to join the America’s Cup competition, really started to shine on Lake Michigan with ceo/skipper Dean Barker and crew taking first place in the practice/substitute race on Fri. (their first win). This race did count on Saturday, as racing was abandoned due to lack of wind in the windiest city. On Sunday, Mother Nature looked favorably upon the regatta with perfect weather for sailing and SoftBank took another first place in the third race of the day.
Barker commented, “We took away a lot of self confidence. I’m really happy with the progress…starting with winning the substitute race. ” SoftBank Team Japan will be one to watch as we go forward.
Unfortunately, in that same substitute race on Fri., the home team capsized, recovered
Photo- Ricardo Pinto/ACEA 2016d, recovered
quickly, but still landed in 6th place. On Sat., ORACLE fans who turned out in throngs, hung in there though there was no wind. When the winds finally did come up, it was after the official Race 3 start time, but they raced anyway and it was classified as a substitute race. In that race, ORACLE TEAM USA took a strong 2nd place and the crowds roared.
Next Stop: England. Back to Portsmouth, HQ to Land Rover BAR, Jul. 21-24, with race days Jul. 23-24.
Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series Overall Standings:
- Emirates Team New Zealand – 295
- Land Rover BAR – 285
- ORACLE TEAM USA (tied for 2nd) – 285
- Artemis Racing – 262
- SoftBank Team Japan – 259
- Groupama Team France – 234
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