LAND Rover BAR hung on to the lead in their home America’s Cup regatta to win the Portsmouth leg of the World Series and take the overall lead in the competition.

The drama went right down to the wire of the last race of the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series Portsmouth event on Sunday after their closest rivals, Oracle Team USA, raced away from the start line.

The British team, led by Sir Ben Ainslie, had to hold on to second place to ensure they beat the Americans by one point overall in the weekend’s event.

Their victory in the Portsmouth event, which saw tens of thousands of people lining Southsea Seafront to witness the unfolding drama and tension, took them to the top of the World Series rankings with 367 points – just a point ahead of their American rivals led by skipper Jimmy Spithill.

The American skipper acknowledged his team had been in a tough competition with the British crew shortly after winning the final race of the day.

“All we can do is take our hats off to them and say well done to Great Britain,” said Spithill.

Today’s races brought double points for the finishing positions and Land Rover BAR made the perfect start to the day’s racing when they romped to victory in race one.

They enjoyed a 200 metre lead over Oracle Team USA after the first circuit of the course and the Americans were not able to close the gap on them.

The wind and tide conditions brought the catamarans close into shore and provided some dramatic action at close quarters for the crowds to enjoy.

A stiffening breeze in the Solent brought the best racing conditions of the weekend and the catamarans were able to reach speeds of 26 knots as they rode on their foils above the water.

On the final mark Artemis Racing from Sweden went from third to fifth position as Emirates Team New Zealand and SoftBank Team Japan raced past them. Groupama Team France finished in sixth place.

This result gave Land Rover BAR a five point lead but that was cut to three when Oracle Team USA caught and got past Emirates Team New Zealand after their quick start to the second race of the day.

The British team managed to outmanoeuvre their New Zealand rivals around one mark to ensure they finished second, with SoftBank Team Japan in third, Artemis Racing fourth, Emirates Team New Zealand fifth and Groupama Team France sixth.

The Americans led from start to finish in the final race of the day and Land Rover BAR had to hang on to their coat tails and hope that no one behind them in the fleet got past them otherwise that would have handed both the Portsmouth and overall series lead to Jimmy Spithill and his crew.

New Zealand and Japan both threatened to put Sir Ben Ainslie and his crew under pressure in the closing stages of the race but they held on to second place and the British crew were pictured punching the air in delight when they realised the importance of their runners-up spot.

SoftBank Team Japan finished third in the final race, Emirates Team New Zealand were fourth, Groupama Team France fifth and Artemis Racing sixth.

The final standings for the Portsmouth leg of the World Series were: 1. Land Rover BAR 82pts; 2. Oracle Team USA 81pts, 3. SoftBank Team Japan 69pts; 4. Emirates Team New Zealand 62pts; 5. Groupama Team France 58pts; 6. Artemis Racing 53pts.

The overall standings in the World Series after Sunday’s racing were: 1. Land Rover BAR 367pts; 2. Oracle Team USA 366pts, 3. Emirates Team New Zealand 357pts; 4. SoftBank Team Japan 328pts; 5. Artemis Racing 315pts; 6. Groupama Team France 292pts.