Olympic champion Ben Ainslie admits his America’s Cup adventures have damaged his chances of competing at the London Games.

But the Macclesfield sailor has backed himself to strike the right balance before 2012.

Ainslie established himself as Great Britain’s most successful Olympic sailor ever by claiming his third gold medal in the Finn class at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, to add to his silver in the Atlanta Games in 1996.

The 33-year-old followed up his fourth Games gong by taking the helm of Britain’s America’s Cup boat, Team Origin, in a bid to claim the Auld Mug for the first time since 1851.

But despite believing the mammoth challenge will leave him off the pace when he returns to the Finn this summer, Ainslie insists he won’t give up the GB spot lightly.

"I’m pretty sure I’ll be racing at the Sail for Gold regatta in August and I imagine Ed Wright and Giles Scott will have the edge over me then," said Ainslie.

"They’re both really good guys who I have worked very closely with so I’m eager to get back and race them.

"London 2012 is such a great opportunity for anyone involved in sport in the UK and that includes me.

"The plan is to get back into racing and be in a position to go to another Olympic Games. We’ll have to see what the America’s Cup throws up because you can never be sure what will happen with it, but that is the plan."

Ainslie had jetted in from Team Origin’s MedCup campaign to skipper the JP Morgan Asset Management Prince’s Trust charity boat at the Round the Island Race – finishing second in her class in a time of 6hr 53:54min.

And after guiding Team Origin to their second win of the series earlier this month, Ainslie insists the squad are well equipped to deliver the ultimate prize.

"I think the most important thing at the moment is that we have a good team and that is the key," added Ainslie.

"We know that the America’s Cup is a long process with lots of ups and downs along the way.

"It can be quite mentally tough but we feel we have a good team now and we are in it for the long haul."

The J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race, organised by the Island Sailing Club, is Britain's favourite yacht race and fourth largest participation sporting event, attracting over 1,700 boats and 16,000 competitors. For more, visit www.roundtheisland.org.uk