Dramatic Nosedive: Italy's AC75 Boat Crashes in America's Cup Clash

Italy's AC75 boat nosedived during a high-speed race against Britain, causing damage and a win for the British team. The incident occurred during the Louis Vuitton Cup, with the winner challenging New Zealand for the America's Cup. The Italian team is assessing damage as Britain's team praised racing conditions.

Italy's AC75 boat took a dramatic, high-speed nosedive during the latest race against Britain in their America's Cup challengers clash on Tuesday, damaging their carbon-fibre decking and handing their opponents a win and a 4-3 lead.

Britain and Italy were tied at 3-3 heading into Tuesday's first-to-seven Louis Vuitton Cup, where the winner will challenge defenders New Zealand for the America's Cup. The Italians' sleek silver foiling monohull crashed bow-first into the Mediterranean waters off Barcelona, picking up speed after bearing away from the top mark of the first leg of eight in the head-to-head race.

"We had a problem at the top mark," Italy's co-helm Francesco Bruni said on the America's Cup live broadcast after the race was stopped, adding that the damage looked repairable and had been caused by the nosedive. Italy have already faced several issues with their boat in their campaign to become challenger for the 'Auld Mug', known as the oldest international sporting trophy dating back to 1851.

The Italian sailors were left assessing the damage from the crash at speeds approaching 50 knots, eventually receiving outside assistance from their support team, leading to an automatic win for Britain. British co-helm Ben Ainslie remarked that conditions had been perfect for racing, adding, "These boats are just going faster and faster every day."

(With inputs from agencies.)