Sir Ben Ainslie has ‘every confidence’ that Ineos Team UK can stage sensational comeback to keep America’s Cup dream alive

The Portsmouth-based team return to Prada Cup final action this weekend after a delay brought about by a three-day lockdown in the New Zealand city of Auckland.

They trail Italians Luna Rossa 4-0 in the first-to-seven series where the winner progresses to the America’s Cup final against defending champions Team New Zealand.

Eight years ago, Ainslie was part of the USA team that came from 1-8 down to beat New Zealand 9-8 in the final off San Francisco.

Now the Olympic sailing legend needs another great comeback to keep alive hopes of Britannia becoming the first British boat to win the tournament in its 170-year history.

No British entry has even reached the final since the mid-1960s.

‘All through this challenge we have kept our emotions level,’ said Ainslie ahead of two races on Saturday.

‘We stick to our processes, do the best job we can and take each race as it comes. That will continue to be our approach.

We know we need to start winning some races and we believe we can. The team has been brilliant across the board and has not wavered a single minute.

‘Not a single person in the team has not lived up to the challenges that we have faced. We are in the thick of the fight right now, we will give it our best shot and I have every confidence in the team that we can come through this.’

Ainslie and co had qualified for the Prada Cup final by winning all their round robin qualifying races against Luna Rossa and an American entry.

But the Italians dominated the first two days of racing before Auckland went into level 3 Covid restrictions following just THREE new cases - all in the same family - being confirmed.

That meant around 1.6 million Kiwis underwent a 72-hour lockdown, forcing the postponement of last Wednesday’s racing, prior to level 2 restrictions being restored.

Under level 2, gatherings of no more than 100 spectators will be allowed in the America’s Cup Race Village or public viewing points. Two-metre social distancing and face masks will be required, though all bars, restaurants and cafes surrounding the Race Village can remain open.

Ainslie added: ‘The forecast this weekend is for light winds.

‘When you get to the lighter end of the spectrum it’s all about which team can stay on the foils the longest, is generating the least amount of drag with their foils, and is able to accelerate fastest out of the manoeuvres.

‘The Italians, along with the Kiwis, have shown to be the stand-out teams in the lighter air to date so for us the past few days have been about working on improving our techniques in the light wind and trying to counter their capabilities.

‘If we can do that, get a good start, and then make the right decisions on where the wind is on the course, we know we can get ahead and stay ahead.’

Following Saturday’s racing, there will be two races every day until one team reaches seven wins. The America’s Cup final is due to start on March 6.