Driver Paula Walker, and her brakewomen Rebekah Wilson and Kelly Thomas, took silver as they finished 0.54 sec behind Esme Kamphuis and Judith Vis of the Netherlands then clinched bronze in the second race won by American duo Bree Schaaf and Emily Azevedo.

The Britannia Rescue men's GBR1 team finished fourth and fifth in their races.

British number one Walker said: "I am very pleased with my runs as this is the track where the World Junior Championships will be and I am targeted for that one by our performance staff."

The men's GBR1 team also started their new season positively with driver John Jackson and brakeman Keith McLaughlin finishing fourth and fifth.

British champion Jackson said: "I am pleased with my races and I know that with the right support structure I can be in with a shout for a podium."

Both the men's races were won by the Monaco team of Patrice Servelle and Lascelles Brown.

The men's GBR2 team, consisting of Lamin Deen and Rich Sharman finished 11th and 12th while the GBR3 team, with driver Will Golder and brakeman Martin Cooper, achieved 17th and 15th.

British Bobsleigh performance director Gary Anderson was delighted with the results achieved by the team.

He said: "These results give us confidence going forward.

"We want to create a winning mentality and results like this will help build this."

Coach Peter Gunn said: "This was a strong field for the America's Cup and a great start for GBR."


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