THE SUPPORT given to competitors during the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series Portsmouth event over the weekend has been described as “mind blowing.”
Tens of thousands of people lined the Southsea shoreline during two days of dramatic racing, which eventually was won by the British Land Rover BAR team by a single point over their American rivals, Oracle Team USA.
The drama went down to the final race on Sunday when Sir Ben Ainslie and his team held on to second place to ensure they won their home regatta and went to the top of the overall World Series standings.
All six teams have praised the show of support from the public and Land Rover BAR team members have thanked spectators for helping to drive them on.
David ’Freddie’ Carr, team grinder/bowman, said: "This is mind-blowing, I think half my local town is here. The support is amazing, thank you so much."
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge also showed their support, visiting the Land Rover BAR base at Old Portsmouth, viewing the racing on the water and then handing out the prizes at the closing ceremony.
Sir Ben Ainslie said: "It is a great result in front of the home crowd. It’s amazing for Portsmouth to have these events [in 2015 and 2016].
“The ultimate goal is to bring the America’s Cup back here. It’s going to be a great event in Bermuda next year and we’ll be giving it everything."
The America’s Cup World Series action now moves on to Toulon in France in September and Fukuoka in Japan in November before the final of the America’s Cup is held in Bermuda next year.