America’s Cup: New Zealand take 4-0 lead but Ainslie backs British recovery

A fast start and a close-run first leg will give the British crew hope they are still in this contest but at 4-0 down it is looking increasingly likely that the America’s Cup is New Zealand’s to keep.

After a good start the Ineos Britannia crew took the lead, and the boats were neck and neck ­throughout the first leg. At one stage the New Zealand boat passed so close to the ­Britannia that the captain, Ben Ainslie, called for a penalty but the appeal was rejected.

Despite the close start, once New Zealand took the lead on the second leg there seemed little doubt which boat was going to win. By the fifth leg they had increased their lead from 145 metres to 258m, finally crossing the line 340m and 23sec ahead of the British boat.

The race on Monday was carried forward from Sunday when it was called off due to the lack of wind. On a calm day with the wind running at eight to 12 knots, the New Zealand crew’s tactical nous and skill at reading the weather conditions seemed to be their only advantage in two closely matched teams.

“Every win on the board is a super nice one,” the New Zealand skipper, Peter Burling, said. “It felt more like a boat race today than yesterday. It’s nice to keep marching forward.”

“It was a tight start,” the New Zealand co-skipper, Nathan Outteridge, said. “We had a bit of work to do to get off the boundary on the left side but when we had the opportunity to cross over to the right side we ­managed to get a little gain.

“We’ve made a step forward again with the performance of the boat and getting it tacking nicely. Very happy with the result, plenty to come still.”

There was no foul-mouthed outburst from Ainslie on Monday after he called the New Zealand commentator, Stephen McIvor, a “fucking wanker” on Sunday for suggesting New Zealand were the better team. The commentators joked that on Monday they played rock-paper-scissors to choose who would ask Ainslie the first question.

“It was a good race with a good start,” Ainslie said. “They did really well and we need to figure out how to take it to them. We are going to keep going and push all the way here, we can still come back from this.

“Clearly, they’re going well. I think we have our moments but there are moments when we are losing a click and that’s really the difference. It’s a good opportunity to take a day on shore and try to figure out how we can find some gains.”

Leigh McMillan, trimmer on the Britannia, was optimistic after his team’s best outing so far. “It’s not big steps that we have to make but little ones and I think we’re making those steps,” he said.

With racing due to resume on Wednesday, they have a day to think about how to turn it around against a New Zealand crew who seem supremely composed and at ease. They exude that same self-belief we have seen over the years from the All Blacks, the sense it is not just the will to win but a mindset that does not entertain the possibility of losing.

However, despite a four-race lead in the best of 13 competition, the New Zealand team won’t relax until the job is done. They will not have forgotten how in 2013 they led 8-1 in a 17-race series before the US team came back to win the next eight races.

The boat that beat them was the Oracle and the tactician was none other than Ainslie.