SIR JIM RATCLIFFE has SPLIT UP with an Olympic legend in his sailing team.
Sir Ben Ainslie has left Ineos Britannia America’s Cup sailing team.
GettySir Ben Ainslie has left Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos sailing team[/caption]
The four-time Olympic champion is reported to have had a strained relationship with Ratcliffe.
It is claimed that the two did not see eye-to-eye on the plans for the next America’s Cup.
Ineos released a statement that claimed that Ainslie and the team could not agree on terms following the 37th America’s Cup in Barcelona.
However, it has insisted that the team will continue to compete in the America’s Cup under the ‘Britannia’ name.
Ratcliffe has not addressed the exit of Ainslie but did add his own statement to the news.
The Manchester United co-owner was adamant that he was “proud” of developing British sailing and that he has no plans to quit sailing.
He said: “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.
“It set new benchmarks for British sailing, including winning the Louis Vuitton Cup for the first time, and taking races off the Defender in the finals for the first time in 90 years.
CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS
“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 won medals at five Olympic games from 1996 onwards.
Ineos statement in full
Ineos will enter a challenge for the 38th America’s Cup under the team name INEOS Britannia after parting ways with Sir Ben Ainslie.
Unfortunately, INEOS Britannia and Sir Ben could not find agreement on terms to move forward following the conclusion of the 37th America’s Cup in Barcelona.
INEOS Britannia has appointed Dave Endean as CEO, who brings immense experience in sailing and the America’s Cup. INEOS will also continue to leverage the design and technology expertise of the Mercedes F1 Team under the guidance of Technical Director, James Allison.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Chairman of INEOS said: “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.
“It set new benchmarks for British sailing, including winning the Louis Vuitton Cup for the first time, and taking races off the Defender in the finals for the first time in 90 years.
“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.”
More details on the INEOS Britannia challenge will follow in due course.
He claimed gold at four consecutive names between 2000 and 2012.
Since his victory at London 2012 he has been aiming to win the America’s Cup for Great Britain in a British boat.
However, all of his attempts have ended without coming first.
Last year’s event in Barcelona was won by New Zealand as they retained the trophy.
Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
