Morning News: French challengers face a possibly defining day in their America's Cup journey

Orient Express Racing Team go into action today in what could be a potentially defining day in their challenge for the 37th America's Cup.

The penultimate day of racing in the Louis Vuitton Cup Round Robin stage offers the French challenger the first of only two remaining opportunities to secure their place in the Semi Final of the knock-out phase.

With only the Italian challenger Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli having secured a place in the final four, the other teams all have work to do to avoid being the first team eliminated, none more so than Orient Express Racing Team who face NYYC American Magic today, and INEOS Britannia tomorrow.

Currently at the bottom of the Challenger Selection scoreboard, Quentin Delapierre's crew have to win at least one of those races to stay in the game, and are still dependent on other race results, particularly those involving Alinghi Red Bull Racing who are also potential contenders for the drop.

Orient Express Racing Team's Head of Performance Franck Cammas said: "The crew is ready. They all know what they have to do, they all know the errors that have been made. It is live or die today and tomorrow — the essence of the America’s Cup that everything will come down to a 20-minute race.

"We have to deliver what we know and it will come down to the team that makes the least errors. The team knows this. They also know that they have a fast boat and that we can match our opponents on speed. They have a game plan, they need to execute clean starts and stay in contact or ahead."

Team Coach Thierry Douillard added: "Yesterday it was windy with a big sea state which was good for us to get some training in before today and tomorrow. It has been a while since we sailed in these conditions.

"We had a light training day focused on boat handling in heavier conditions — the crew are more comfortable now with how the boat handles. It’s always on the edge with these boats when they go fast, you have to dare and you need confidence." 

A solid sailing breeze of 8-12 knots is forecast for Barcelona today, though with a possibly unsettled sea state.