Britain's BAR win America's Cup World Series regatta

PORTSMOUTH, England (Reuters) - Skipper Ben Ainslie and Britain’s team Land Rover BAR repeated their 2015 home victory in the America’s Cup World Series sailing regatta on Sunday. The win moved the team into the lead in the overall race and secured points that bring Britain closer to challenging to compete in the America’s Cup in Bermuda in 2017. BAR clinched the regatta win on England’s south coast in a nail-biting finish in the final leg of the last race on Super Sunday as the world’s top sailors raced for double points in sailing’s Formula One equivalent on high-tech state of the art catamarans. Ainslie showed the aggressive tactics that helped him win his fourth Olympic sailing gold medal in 2012, holding his nerve to secure second place behind his former team mate and America’s Cup defending champion Jimmy Spithill on Oracle Team USA. That was enough to seal a one-point victory in the regatta. Breezy conditions tested the elite crews racing the 45-foot twin-hulled catamarans which moved at speeds of over 30 knots (55.56 km per hour) on hydrofoil wings for more than half the course, making for a thrilling spectacle for the gathered crowds. Oracle Team USA are now lying in second place overall, ahead of Emirates Team New Zealand, skippered by Glenn Ashby, with two races left in Toulon, France in September and Fukuoka, Japan in November. (reporting by Tessa Walsh, Editing by Ed Osmond)