Thrilling Contest in America's Cup Challenger Final: Britain vs. Italy

Britain and Italy are tied in the America's Cup challenger final, each securing a win. The qualifier winner will face New Zealand's defenders in Barcelona next month. High winds and Mediterranean waves posed tough conditions, with both teams pushing their AC75 foiling monohulls to the limit.

Britain and Italy were level-pegging in the first-to-seven America's Cup challenger final on Thursday, with one win apiece.

The Louis Vuitton Cup qualifier series winner gets to take on America's Cup defenders New Zealand for the coveted "Auld Mug" in Barcelona next month. Fast and furious racing conditions tested the huge AC75 foiling monohulls to the limit, with a strong wind and big Mediterranean waves off the Spanish city's beaches.

"It was a bit like racing a Ferrari on ice," Italy's co-helm Jimmy Spithill said on the America's Cup live broadcast when asked to describe how it felt keeping the boat under control. The British and Italian teams will go head-to-head until one of them racks up seven wins in the Louis Vuitton Cup final, with the next two races scheduled for Saturday.

Italy won Thursday's first race, nailing the start and extending their lead over the British, who turned the tables in the second to score a win in a closely-contested second race. "This is going to be a fight to the end and that's what we want," Spithill said of the improved British performance.

Britain's Ben Ainslie described the conditions as "top end", with the boats "red-lining it" at times as they hit speeds of more than 50 knots. A better start in the second race meant that his team were able to clinch the win, he added. "They kept coming at us and kept it close," Ainslie said from the cockpit of his AC75 after crossing the finish line.

(With inputs from agencies.)