Orient Express hits the buffers in America’s Cup push

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Orient Express hits the buffers in America’s Cup push

Orient Express Racing became the first team eliminated from the America’s Cup after losing to Britain’s INEOS Britannia on Monday.

The French boat finished last after the round-robin regattas and will not move on to the four-team playoffs that begin on Saturday.

Orient Express ended with a 1-7 record. Switzerland’s Alinghi Red Bull Racing, the other boat in danger of being eliminated on Monday, won its point against Italy’s Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli to finish at 3-5 and make it to the playoffs.

Luna Rossa was disqualified from the race against Alinghi after not making the start because of an issue with the boat.

The final round-robin day was originally scheduled for Sunday but the races had to be postponed because of bad weather in Barcelona.

That meant Orient Express had more time to deal with structural damage on its boat after a nosedive during a practice run on Sunday. But the team still couldn’t pull off the win it needed against INEOS Britannia.

A victory for Orient Express, and a loss by Alinghi against Luna Rossa, would have forced a single-race tiebreaker.

INEOS Britannia and NYYC ********* Magic both locked up spots in the playoffs on Saturday, along with already-qualified Luna Rossa.

INEOS Britannia beat Luna Rossa in a sail-off race to determine the first-place team, which gets to select its rival for the first playoff series. INEOS Britannia and Luna Rossa had arrived with six wins and two losses each.

********* Magic, which sailed without skipper Paul Goodison because of a reported injury, ended the round-robin with a 4-4 record.

The playoffs will decide which challenger will claim the Louis Vuitton Cup and earn a place in the America’s Cup match, where it will face holder Emirates Team New Zealand in October.

New Zealand is participating in the opening phase but its races don’t count. It ended with eight victories and two losses.

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