Sir Ben Ainslie’s Ineos Britannia battle again within the America’s Cup

Kiwis are meant to be flightless and after five days of racing that message has finally reached the waters of Barcelona. Sir Ben Ainslie and his crew have a lifeline in this America’s Cup showdown.

By taking two wins from two on Wednesday, the prospect of a 7-0 defeat to Emirates Team New Zealand has vanished and been replaced by the possibility of another famous Ainslie comeback.

At 4-2 down, the odds are still weighted against Ineos Britannia, but momentum is on their side for the first time in the final and with it their opponents suddenly appear vulnerable.

That was demonstrated most visibly in the pre-start of the day’s opening race, when the New Zealanders fell off their foils onto their hull and sat motionless for an age before sustaining a 78-second hiding – it was skipper Pete Burling’s first real error of the contest and the biggest margin of defeat for either side.

Into the second race and Ainslie outsmarted Burling at the start and then held on through the closest of tussles for a seven-second victory. ‘We’re back in it,’ he declared to his crew, and what a difference it was to Sunday when, at 3-0 down, he called a commentator a ‘f****** w*****’.

Sir Ben Ainslie and his crew have a lifeline in this America’s Cup showdown after a brilliant Wednesday

By taking two wins from two on Wednesday, the prospect of a 7-0 defeat to Emirates Team New Zealand has vanished

Capturing the improved mood, he went on to say: ‘That was a solid effort from the team. That was for everyone, here and on land. There is still a long way to go but the comeback is on. Every day we get better at sailing this boat.’

Whatever lessons were learned during Tuesday’s rest day appear to have paid off. Unlike the defending champions, who spent the day ashore, Ainslie and his team went on to the water and, according to Leigh McMillan, their sail trimmer, ‘threw the boat around’.

It shook loose an improved performance and renewed hopes that Ainslie can pull off another heist, as he did for the Americans from 8-1 down to the New Zealanders in the 2013 final.

They were assisted on Wednesday by conditions which remained light in terms of wind strength but saw a far bumpier sea state. Britannia had nurtured a theory across the past week that their foil shape would give them an edge in choppier water compared to the flat sailing seen to date and that was vindicated in race five.

Burling was attempting a gybe in the pre-start dance when his yacht came off its foils and effectively belly flopped. Ainslie rubbed saltwater in the wound by twice sailing across their bow in the final moments before the hooter, thereby coating the New Zealanders in wind wash and preventing them from gaining the speed needed to get airborne. Staring back at their stalled rivals, the Brits built a lead of well over 1400m as they coasted to a huge win.

The second session was considerably tighter, which will prove more satisfying to Ainslie and his co-helm Dylan Fletcher. They snatched victory in the cat-and-mouse game of the pre-start, having been second best so many times to the younger Burling from Saturday to Monday, and the yacht also answered a few key questions about its speed.

Ineos were assisted by conditions which remained light in terms of wind strength but saw a far bumpier sea state

Most prominent among them was the matter of whether they could sail away from the New Zealand boat if they had a lead. Across the first three days of racing, the Brits had repeatedly seen their deficits grow after falling behind, so the win in race six demonstrated they are capable of doing the same.

Racing will resume on Friday with a far brighter outlook for the challengers.