Britain’s Sir Ben Ainslie has clinched a spot in the America’s Cup challenger semifinals despite an embarrassing loss to Emirates Team New Zealand, which also made it through to the next round.
That leaves SoftBank Team Japan, Artemis Racing of Sweden and Groupama Team France to fight for the final two spots.
Emirates Team New Zealand benefited from a major blunder by Ainslie’s Land Rover BAR and was so far ahead at the finish in light, fluky winds on Bermuda’s Great Sound on Thursday that the British skipper withdrew while still needing to complete nearly a full lap.
Ainslie bounced back and beat Groupama Team France to clinch a spot in the semis.
Two-time defending champion Oracle Team USA overcame a penalty at the start and passed stablemate SoftBank Team Japan to win by 32 seconds.