America’s Cup sailing, the sport that effortlessly combines state-of-the-art catamaran engineering with luxury handbags, swanned into Portsmouth harbour last weekend, with much of the home interest in the British leg of the Louis Vuitton World Series – a protracted qualifying beano to see who will take on Oracle Team USA in the actual America’s Cup in 2017 – focused on Olympian Ben Ainslie and his $150m bid to break open a competition traditionally dominated by Americans and New Zealanders. Nor did Ainslie’s Land Rover BAR team disappoint an estimated 100,000 spectators, winning one race and finishing second in another, before some classic British summer gales and rain took over proceedings. “It was amazing, almost emotional, leaving the harbour and seeing thousands of boats out there,” Ainslie said. “I’ve never seen anything like that in my sailing career.”
Vettel shows his mettle
Just when you thought it was safe to switch off the TV on a Sunday, Formula One motor racing seems to have relocated its mojo. Neither a Hamilton nor a Rosberg could be seen on the podium as Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel streaked to victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix, having led from the opening lap as both Mercedes drivers struggled to recover from horrendous starts. Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo were the other podium finishers, and they and Vettel dedicated their races to Jules Bianchi, the former Marussia driver who died earlier this month after failing to recover from head injuries sustained in a crash at last October’s Japanese Grand Prix.
Blatter and Putin put on show
In St Petersburg, the heartwarming sight of Fifa president Sepp Blatter in a clasped-hands gesture of solidarity with Vladimir Putin ensured greater-than-usual interest in the 2018 football World Cup qualifying draw. Bravely ignoring a festering row over widespread racism in the Russian domestic game, Putin even managed a rare, Botox-constrained smile as he declared the tournament would be “a good chance to show an open, multi-faceted Russia”. Retailers in London and Glasgow, meanwhile, were already formulating plans to board up their shopfronts after England and Scotland were drawn in the same qualifying group. Wales and the Republic of Ireland will also face off on the road to Russia.
Trans-Tasman rugby finale
Australia and New Zealand will contest the southern hemisphere Rugby Championship in Sydney next weekend after typically bone-jarring victories over Argentina and South Africa, respectively. The Wallabies scored four tries in a 34-9 victory in Mendoza, while in Johannesburg a late Richie McCaw try helped the All Blacks to a 27-20 success. Meanwhile, New Zealander Joe Schmidt has extended his contract as coach of the 2014 and 2015 Six Nations champions Ireland until 2017.
