Team New Zealand will finally return to match racing on Sunday morning when they begin their best-of-13 series against Ineos Britannia in Barcelona. 

The match will be the first competitive racing in a month for Team NZ, who showed some impressive signs in the preliminary regatta and round-robins, before leaving the stage to let the remaining challengers duke it out. 

Ineos Britannia were the last challenger standing after eliminating Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli in the Louis Vuitton Cup final, meaning they’ll be the ones facing off against Team New Zealand. 

CEO Grant Dalton told Mike Hosking that Ineos Britannia will likely be tired coming off their Louis Vuitton Cup win, and they’ll have to be able to put it behind them quickly. 

He said that although there’s a disadvantage in not having raced for a month, they also had the opportunity to develop their boat. 

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