NEOS Britannia have chosen Red Bull Racing Alinghi as their rivals in the first-to-five America's Cup challenger semifinals, beginning at Barcelona overnight.
The British team, headed by Sir Ben Ainslie, finished atop the standings after a dramatic final day of round robin racing, earning the right to select their opponents for the next stage.
Unsurprisingly, they opted for the Swiss, who took the 'Auld Mug' off New Zealand in 2005 and lost it to Oracle Racing five years later. Alinghi struggled winless through the first half of the double round robin eliminations, but eventually win three races to edge past the French Orient Express team.
Britannia's choice leaves Luna Rossa Prada Pirellia to face NYYC American Magic in the other semi.
"It's not a decision that we take lightly, with the whole team getting involved," said Sir Ben. "The data analysts looked at the performance of different teams, we're looking at the weather forecasts with the meteorologists and even things like the unfortunate situation with Paul Goodison, who is a good mate of mine, so all of these sorts of things go into a decision."
American Magic helmsman Goodison will not be aboard the US AC75 for the start of the semifinal series, after a fall during the latter stages of the elimination competition.
"I am quite pleased, actually, to race against INEOS Britannia," said Alinga skipper Arnaud Psarofaghis. "They showed great performance in the round robin and if we want to win this thing, then I think we need to learn from the best.
"I think that they are the best team to get us ready to get through the semifinal and the final. I think I would have picked Ben as well."
Prada seemed assured of finishing top of the table, but were upset by Alinghi on the final day and slipped into a tie with the British, then lost a sailoff for outright honours.
Their match-up against American Magic pits two former teammates Jimmy Spithill and Tom Slingsby, who masterminded Oracle's come-from-behind victory over New Zealand at San Francisco in 2013.
"I really see two very evenly matched teams," said Spithill. "It's actually a very exciting prospect to go up against Tommy and the American team.
"We have a lot of respect for them, as we have for everyone involved in the competition. It will be one hell of a match and it’s why we do it.
"You want to go up against the world’s best and we believe they’re a fantastic team. It will be an awesome semis."
After contesting the round robin, but not counting towards the outcome, Emirates Team NZ will step aside for the knockout phases and will next take the water on October 12, when they defend the trophy against the winning challengers.
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