World Series brings America’s Cup racing back to New York

NEW YORK (LOG NEWS SERVICE) — America’s Cup racing will return to New York for the first time since 1920 with Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series racing on May 7-8.

The New York event is one of six World Series events planned during 2016. The six teams, including the cup defender Oracle Team USA, compete for points in each World Series regatta. The top two teams at the conclusion of the series earn bonus points for the next stage of the competition, the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers, in May 2017.

In June 2017 the 35th America’s Cup will be raced in Bermuda.

So far this year, Emirates Team New Zealand’s star helmsman, Peter Burling, the youngest in the fleet, has led his team to the top of the standings over current America’s Cup champion Jimmy Spithill’s Oracle Team USA and the highly touted Land Rover BAR team led by Olympic hero Ben Ainslie.

Practice racing in New York is on May 6, with point-scoring races on the weekend of May 7-8.

The Event Village will be in the Brookfield Place Waterfront Plaza, while the racing will be off the Battery Park City Esplanade.

The New York event is a historical milestone of sorts. For 50 years, from 1870 through 1920, the first 13 challenges for the America’s Cup took place off New York.

Beginning in 1930 the competition was moved to Newport, Rhode Island, where it remained until the New York Yacht Club finally lost the Cup to Australia in 1983 — ending its 132-year winning streak.

Since then racing for the America’s Cup has taken place in Fremantle (Australia), San Diego, Auckland (New Zealand), Valencia (Spain) and San Francisco.

The final four events on the 2016 schedule include: 
Chicago, USA — June 11-12
Portsmouth, UK — July 23-24 
Toulon, France — Sept. 10-11
Fukuoka, Japan — (late November).

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