American and British boats into America’s Cup playoffs. Swiss and French battle for last spot

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Britain’s INEOS Britannia and NYYC American Magic both locked up spots in the America’s Cup playoffs along with the already qualified Italians after winning races on Saturday.

The British booked their spot in the playoffs by beating Switzerland’s Alinghi Red Bull Racing. The boat skippered by Olympic great Ben Ainslie then dealt Italy’s Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli its first loss in competitive racing in the opening round robin.

INEOS improved to 5-2 while Luna Rossa remained atop the standings with a 6-1 record.

American Magic of the New York Yacht Club started the day by losing to Luna Rossa before bouncing back by edging Orient Express to reach 4-4.

“We have a lot of work to do to keep progressing, but we are really happy to move into the semis,” said American Magic helmsman Tom Slingsby.

Now it will come down to Switzerland’s Alinghi Red Bull Racing and France’s Orient Express Racing Team to see which one will also move on and which will go home after the final round-robin regattas on Sunday.

Alinghi is 2-5 and Orient Express 1-6. The French will need to beat the British on Sunday and hope the Swiss lose to the Italians to pull level on points and force a single-race tiebreaker.

The playoff series will start on Sept. 14 to decide which challenger will claim the Louis Vuitton Cup and earn a place in the America’s Cup match, where it will face holder Emirates Team New Zealand in October. New Zealand is participating in the opening phase, but its races don’t count.

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