America's Cup day one: Land Rover BAR on track for next round

Ben Ainslie’s crew sit at the summit of the qualifying table in Bermuda, alongside holders Oracle Team USA, after the first day of racing with three points each.

The chasing pack of Sweden’s Artemis Racing, Emirates Team New Zealand and SoftBank Team Japan all have one point respectively.

Groupama Team France are anchored to the bottom of the table on zero points.

One team drops out of the competition after the double round-robin qualifying stage and champions Oracle Team USA do not compete in the Challenger Series.

The British team won their opening race in emphatic style against Artemis Racing before losing against SoftBank Team Japan.

Heading into the qualifying stages, Land Rover BAR already had a two-point advantage for their victory in the America’s Cup World Series 2015-16.

After racing was postponed a day due to high winds, it meant Britain had two contests on the opening day in Bermuda.

There was plenty of talk of Ainslie’s boat having not been quick enough in practice and question marks surrounded them.

However, they answered their critics and thrashed Artemis Racing by 11 seconds in their first race.

They were expected to beat Japan after their previous victory but Land Rover BAR were penalised for a collision going into the start box before the contest and never recovered.

Britain face two tough races against Oracle Team USA and Emirates Team New Zealand tomorrow.

Land Rover BAR bid to win become just the second team to win the America’s Cup on their first attempt.