New Zealand extend lead to close in on America's Cup
Britain have never won the silver ewer in the competition's 173-year history
- Published
New Zealand won both races on Friday to open up a 6-2 lead over Great Britain and move within a point of retaining the America's Cup.
Ben Ainslie's Ineos Britannia team began the day hoping to level the best-of-13 series in Barcelona after a strong showing on Wednesday.
But favourable wind conditions helped Emirates Team New Zealand triumph in race seven and they followed up on that in race eight to claim five match points.
鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 a good day for us - hats off to the Kiwis," said British skipper Ben Ainslie.
"They sailed two really strong races in that shifty stuff and managed to pick the right side off both start lines and get that first shift.
"They did a really nice job of defending when ahead and putting us in a bad spot. We鈥檒l take it on the chin and it鈥檚 still not over yet, so we鈥檒l keep fighting.鈥
Racing resumes on Saturday with the Kiwis aiming to become the first team to lift the Auld Mug on three consecutive occasions since the United States (1987-1992).
Britain, who are appearing in their first final since 1964, have never previously won the silver ewer in the competition's 173-year history.
The remaining races of the America's Cup will be available to watch live across 大象传媒 iPlayer, the 大象传媒 Sport website and app, with Saturday's racing starting from 13:00 BST.