Olympic sailing icon Sir Ben Ainslie will no longer lead INEOS Britannia’s pursuit of the America’s Cup after splitting with the team owned by Manchester United part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe
Manchester United part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is facing legal action after INEOS Britannia parted ways with sailing icon Sir Ben Ainslie ahead of the 38th America’s Cup.
Ainslie, the most successful sailor in Olympic history with gold medals at four consecutive Games, had planned to once again lead Britain’s attempt to finally win the prestigious yacht race. But Ratcliffe, who owns 28.94 per cent of Premier League club United, has left 47-year-old Ainslie ’astounded’ through the decision made by Ineos, the petrochemicals company which the Manchester-born billionaire runs.
Having first received Ratcliffe’s backing in 2018, Ainslie had been INEOS Britannia’s team principal and skipper in their bid to a deliver a first win for Britain since the America’s Cup began in 1851. Ainslie’s team beat Italy last year in the Louis Vuitton Cup series to qualify for the showpiece event for the first time since 1964, although New Zealand went on to retain the Auld Mug with a 7-2 victory in Barcelona last October.
Following the defeat, Ainslie - who got his hands on the America’s Cup as part of Team USA in 2013 - had vowed to come back even stronger for the 38th edition, despite reports of a strained relationship with Ratcliffe. On Thursday, however, Ineos announced that Ainslie will no longer be at the helm, with Dave Endean appointed as chief executive of the team’s project which partners with Mercedes Formula 1 team.
"Ineos will enter a challenge for the 38th America’s Cup under the team name INEOS Britannia after parting ways with Sir Ben Ainslie," a statement read. "Unfortunately, Ineos Britannia and Sir Ben could not find agreement on terms to move forward following the conclusion of the 37th America’s Cup in Barcelona.
"Ineos Britannia has appointed Dave Endean as CEO, who brings immense experience in sailing and the America’s Cup."
That prompted a furious response from Ainslie, who made a statement through his team, now called Athena Racing. "The British Challenger for the 38th America’s Cup, led by Sir Ben Ainslie, was astounded to read today’s statement from INEOS and Mercedes F1 regarding their planned challenge for the 38th America’s Cup," it read.
"This plan raises significant legal and practical obstacles for them that will play out in the coming days and weeks. Furthermore, Sir Ben Ainslie’s British America’s Cup team will be known as Athena Racing going forwards, aligning with the British Women’s and Youth America’s Cup team, the Athena Pathway."
Ratcliffe has already spoken out on his team’s decision, saying: "I am enormously proud of what we achieved in Barcelona in developing a British boat that was truly competitive for the first time in decades. It set new benchmarks for British sailing, including winning the Louis Vuitton Cup for the first time, and taking races off the defender in the finals for the first time in 90 years.
"We will now build upon this for the 38th America’s Cup through the Ineos challenge and already have 100 scientists and engineers working on the design of our AC38 yacht."
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