INEOS Britannia parts ways with skipper Ben Ainslie for 38th America’s Cup

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — A tidal wave of discord has hit America’s Cup sailing after INEOS Britannia announced it was parting ways with CEO and skipper Ben Ainslie for the 38th edition of the premier yachting race.

Ainslie, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, said he was “astounded” by the decision. A statement released on Friday seemed to indicate he could take legal action against his former corporate backer led by billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, a minority owner of Manchester United soccer club.

“This plan raises significant legal and practical obstacles for them that will play out in the coming days and weeks,” Ainslie said in the statement.

The breakup comes after Ainslie steered Britannia to a British yacht’s first America’s Cup final in 60 years in Barcelona last year. It lost to Emirates Team New Zealand 7-2 in the final.

Following the loss to the Kiwis, Ainslie said he wanted to stay in his CEO role with INEOS Britannia while leaving open the possibility that at age 47 he would step down as skipper.

But INEOS Britannia opted to completely cut with Ainslie, ending a partnership that began in 2018 and brought with it the technological know-how of the Mercedes F1 team. It said in a statement that Dave Endean would replace Ainslie as CEO for the 38th edition of the America’s Cup. A British boat has never won the America’s Cup.

“I am enormously proud of what we achieved in Barcelona in developing a British boat that was truly competitive for the first time in decades,” Ratcliffe said in a statement that did not mention Ainslie. “We will now build upon this for the 38th America’s Cup through the INEOS challenge and already have 100 scientists and engineers working on the design of our AC38 yacht.”

Ainslie, who helped Oracle Team USA win the America’s Cup in 2013, also runs a SailGP team. He said that his America’s Cup team would now be called Athena Racing.

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