view from the air of lightening striking the water in Barcelona at America's Cup

Racing at the Louis Vuitton Cup today has been cancelled due to stormy weather in Barcelona. This follows lightning and thunder yesterday (Tuesday 3 September) that saw the first day of Round Robin 2 in the 37th America’s Cup cut short.

Racing was halted after a lightning strike was observed a few hundred metres down the racecourse during the second race of the day between defender Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (ITA).

INEOS Britannia, the British Challenger of Record racing for the Royal Yacht Squadron in the 37th America’s Cup, was due to race NYYC American Magic in the third race of the day, but their race did not go ahead. 

Today, the decision has also been taken to close the Official Race Village on the Moll de la Fusta and all Fanzones due to the forecast for heavy rain squalls and the possibility of thunder and lightning around the Barcelona area.

Racing cancelled on first day of Round Robin 2 after lightning strike

Yesterday, rain clouds moving off the mountains to the north of Barcelona created challenging conditions with significant wind shifts on day one of the Louis Vuitton Cup’s second Round Robin—the pivotal stage of the Challenger Selection Series where each race is crucial. From this point, the stakes are high, with the reality that one team will be eliminated on Sunday, ending their Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup campaign if everything proceeds as scheduled.

Two races took place before racing was suspended: Alinghi Red Bull Racing (SUI) versus Orient Express Racing Team (FRA) and Emirates Team New Zealand took on Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (ITA). The race between the Swiss and French teams was hotly anticipated, as both teams were at the bottom of the leaderboard. The Swiss team, Alinghi Red Bull Racing, took an early lead with a 240-metre advantage. Despite efforts by Orient Express Racing Team to close the gap, they were unable to overcome the deficit. Alinghi Red Bull Racing secured their first point, finishing 1 minute and 10 seconds ahead of the French team.

The Kiwis and the Italians raced next. It was a super aggressive start by Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, powering over the Kiwis in the final seconds on the lead back-in before heading up hard on the starting line leaving no place to go for Emirates Team New Zealand other than into an immediate tack. The Italians led the race until a significant lightning strike was seen. Emirates Team New Zealand sailed outside the boundary immediately and was disqualified while the Race Committee cancelled all further racing for the day and awarded the race win to Luna Rossa. 

INEOS Britannia team principal and skipper Ben Ainslie says: “It was a tricky old day with the weather coming in and storm clouds all over the place. The race committee did a good job getting a couple of races away. It was pretty full on out there with lightning coming down in that match between the Kiwis and the Italians. It was the right call to get the fleet in and come back and have another go tomorrow.” 

UK viewers can watch the races live on TNT Sports. 

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