American Magic’s Prada Cup campaign has come to a heartbreaking and cruel end with mechanical issues on board their repaired boat ruining their chances in a do-or-die race against Luna Rossa this afternoon.
After falling behind early in the race following another poor start, Dean Barker and the Americans’ hearts sank as they realised one of their boards wouldn’t go down.
As a result, Barker was forced to take the boat off its foils to address the issue as Luna Rossa sped to a lead of over two minutes.
Despite American Magic managing to fix Patriot in time to race this weekend after the dramatic capsize two weeks ago, their boat has remained an issue.
Barker showed some pride in his racing though, figuring out how to deal with the issue and continue to race Patriot to the finish despite Luna Rossa’s 2500-metre lead. The Americans finished three minutes and 51 seconds behind Luna Rossa in the end.
Jimmy Spithill and Luna Rossa cruised home to complete 4-0 series win, meaning he and the Italians will now take on Sir Ben Ainslie and INEOS Team UK in the Prada Cup final in two weeks.
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