SIR BEN Ainslie’s BAR Land Rover team enjoyed a mixed set of results on the practice day for the America’s Cup sailing in Portsmouth.

They won the first two races of this afternoon’s Louis Vuitton World Series event but then had to settle for third place in both of the other races.

The real action gets under way off Southsea seafront on Saturday and Sunday but the final practice race of the four staged today could become vitally important if there are any problems over the weekend.

The final race on Friday afternoon was classed as a reserve race and will be used as a result if any of the other main races have to be cancelled due to the weather or any other incidents.

A year ago, torrential rain followed by strong winds, which forced the final race day to be cancelled, caused real problems for the six teams competing to win sailing’s top honour.

The weather played its part again today but it was the lack of wind which almost played havoc with the event this time.

Commentators during the racing said there was barely enough of a breeze to race at all and the skippers of the high-tech catamarans had to use all of their experience to find what little wind there was out on the Solent.

It made for some exciting racing, as many of the teams raced from the back of the fleet to surprise the front runners in each of the four races.

In the final race of the day, Emirates Team New Zealand were the winners but BAR Land Rover almost snatched the runners-up spot.

Ainslie managed to sneak past Softbank Team Japan in the final stages of the race with a manoeuvre which almost saw the two boats hit each other but they retook second place and held off the British challenge all the way to the finishing line.

BAR Land Rover enjoyed comprehensive victories in the first two races of the day, when the British team’s knowledge of the water and conditions off their home port seemed to pay off for them.

In race three, they came from the rear of the pack after a slow start but had to settle for third place – just over a minute behind winners Softbank Team Japan, with Emirates Team New Zealand in second place.

There was plenty of support for the home team as thousands of spectators enjoyed the hot sunshine and the Red Arrows as they lined Southsea Seafront to enjoy the action.