BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Switzerland’s Alinghi Red Bull Racing and France’s Orient Express Racing Team will have to wait another day to see who gets eliminated from the America’s Cup after races were postponed to Monday because of the weather.
Organizers said “some dynamic and fast-moving conditions” prevented racing in Barcelona on Sunday after significant rain showers and the risk of lightning.
Alinghi and Orient Express are at the bottom of the standings and only one will move on after the final round-robin regattas.
The French will need to beat Britain’s INEOS Britannia and hope the Swiss lose to Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli of Italy to pull level on points and force a single-race tiebreaker.
The postponement was helpful to Orient Express, which in the morning had to deal with structural damage on its boat after a nosedive during a practice run. The French team had been able to somewhat fix the issue before the races were eventually called off on Sunday.
INEOS Britannia and NYYC American Magic both locked up spots in the America’s Cup playoffs on Saturday, along with already qualified Luna Rossa.
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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