Wildcard entry granted to ROFF Cascais Sailing Team for Extreme Sailing Series™ Istanbul and Porto Acts

Extreme 40 fleet bolstered for the Istanbul and Porto Acts, with the participation of the Portuguese challenger for the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup – ROFF Cascais Sailing Team

The ‘Stadium Style’ racecourses at the Istanbul and Porto Acts of the 2013 Extreme Sailing Series™ will have a fresh complexion as ROFF Cascais Sailing Team becomes the second Youth America’s Cup team to announce its participation in as many weeks alongside Team Tilt. The participation of the Portuguese squad, sponsored by ROFF, the Municipality of Cascais and the Municipality of Lisbon, will boost the fleet to nine boats for the Act in Istanbul, with a home nation invitational team to be announced next week.
The Act in Istanbul takes place from the 20-23 June where the fleet will race from the banks of Istanbul’s old town, before entering the second half of the 2013 Series and heading to Porto from the 25-28 July.

AC72 da Team Oracle de volta

AC Discovery 75

Emirates Team New Zealand today unveiled its second AC72

Fonte: Emirates Team New Zealand

Emirates Team New Zealand today unveiled its second AC72 with a low-key ceremony at the team’s Viaduct Harbour, Auckland, base.

Barely six months after the team’s first AC72 catamaran started testing the second boat was ready for the water, another significant milestone accomplished as the team prepares for its challenge for the 34th America’s Cup.

Auckland’s weather today did not co-operate. After weeks on bright sun and light winds, the city was overcast, wet, cool and windy.

The brisk north-easterly breeze was gusting to 28 knots and the team decided not to risk lifting the boat into the water after it was blessed by Ngati Whatua o Orakei.


Emirattes Team New Zealand unveils second AC72 yacht. Auckland, 4 February 2013. Photo copyright Chris Cameron / Emirattes Team New Zealand

Managing director Grant Dalton said: “We were ready to launch but the weather wasn’t. Even though we didn’t lift the boat we met another of our self-imposed deadlines.

“America’s Cup rules did not allow the launch of a second boat until last Friday, February 1 (San Francisco time), effectively Saturday in New Zealand. We settled for a Monday launch for the second boat three months ago.”

“With the gusts making the wing lift difficult this morning, it was prudent not to risk damage at the start of a busy testing programme.

“Tomorrow the test programme gets underway with load testing and the new boat will be sailing later this week.”

The team finished the first AC72’s 30-day sailing programme on December 12, two days earlier than scheduled, and we immediately switched focus to finishing and commissioning the second boat.

Dalton said the entire team had put a huge amount of work into meeting today’s deadline.” Our people have been working six- and seven-day weeks and they have had little family time for months.

Dalton said the base would be closed for four days from next Friday to give everyone a little down time. “It’s a small reward for such a massive effort and a job well done.


Emirattes Team New Zealand unveils second AC72 yacht. Auckland, 4 February 2013. Photo copyright Chris Cameron / Emirattes Team New Zealand

“Now the reality is we have only five months before we start racing in the Louis Vuitton Cup. Before that we will do two months of intensive testing in Auckland. We suspend the test programme in early April and pack the cats, chase boats, base structures, workshops, offices, gym, kitchens and stores for the move to San Francisco.

“The last of the America’s Cup world series regattas will be held at Naples, Italy, starting on April 16. That will take some of the sailing team, shore crew, logistics and admin people out of play for a couple of weeks.

“We will be sailing the AC72 in San Francisco towards the end of May. Racing starts on July 7.”

Taking the big cat apart piece by piece

Fonte: America's Cup

The Emirates Team New Zealand AC72 has been reduced to its component pieces, a delicate operation which took the best part of two weeks to accomplish. Winch drums and some hardware has been removed to be installed on Boat 2 which will be delivered to the team’s Auckland Viaduct Harbour base early in January.
Shore crew members have worked long and hard to complete decommissioning before Christmas. From tomorrow they will have a little time off before setting about the task of commissioning Boat 2 for its launch in early February.
Chris Cameron’s pictures are here.

A sailor’s life is not an easy one

Fonte: America's Cup

As you all relax for the holidays, spare a thought for the Emirates Team New Zealand sailors who will be training hard every day to keep in shape for getting back out on to the water early in the new year. Here’s an update on the gym training programme from David Slyfield.

ORACLE TEAM USA SPITHILL wins second consecutive America’s Cup World Series San Francisco

© ACEA/Photo: Gilles Martin-Raget Download


© ACEA/Photo: Gilles Martin-Raget Download



© ACEA/Photo: Gilles Martin-Raget Download


© ACEA/Photo: Gilles Martin-Raget Download




ORACLE TEAM USA SPITHILL (Jimmy Spithill) rebounded from last place at the first turning mark of the “Super Sunday” fleet race finale to win the America’s Cup World Series San Francisco Championship.

Spithill and crew Dirk de Ridder, John Kostecki, Jono MacBeth and Joe Newton were “dead last” off the start line, but fought their way back through the fleet. They rounded the last windward gate first and held on for a 17-second win over teammates ORACLE TEAM USA COUTTS (Russell Coutts).

Spithill won 40 points for the race and totaled 79 points for the series. That put the crew in a tie with J.P. Morgan BAR (Ben Ainslie) for the series championship, which placed fourth in the final race. Spithill won the championship based on the final race finishes.

“The difference is the four guys on the front of the boat,” said Spithill, referencing his crew. “We were dead last off the start line but it didn’t faze these guys. We have a real team of fighters here. We’re really, really happy.”

ORACLE TEAM USA SPITHILL put an emphatic stamp on this regatta. Yesterday the crew won the Match Racing Championship after capsizing and breaking frames in the wingsail during a fleet race. The crew also won the August AC World Series San Francisco Championship by 1 point, previously the closest finish at an AC World Series event. The tiebreaker surpasses that mark.

“We’ve always said we need to be able to come from behind and overcome adversity,” said Spithill, who skippered the team to victory in the 2010 America’s Cup. “I thought I gave them that yesterday with the capsize, but it's really a sign of a strong team. The shore crew, our coaches, it's been a fantastic team effort.”

Artemis Racing – White (Terry Hutchinson) placed third in today’s race and finished third overall. Emirates Team New Zealand (Dean Barker) placed fourth overall and ORACLE TEAM USA COUTTS fifth.

AC World Series San Francisco Fleet Racing Championship (After 7 of 7 races)
1. ORACLE TEAM USA SPITHILL (Jimmy Spithill) 8-1-6-5-DNF-2-1 – 79
2. J.P. Morgan BAR (Ben Ainslie) 1-3-1-2-4-1-4 – 79 points
3. Artemis Racing – White (Terry Hutchinson) 10-2-2-1-3-3-3 – 72
4. Emirates Team New Zealand (Dean Barker) 2-8-5-6-1-4-7 – 57
5. ORACLE TEAM USA COUTTS (Russell Coutts) 3-5-8-7-8-10-2 – 56
6. Artemis Racing – Red (Nathan Outteridge) 4-4-4-4-9-8-5 – 52
7. Energy Team (Loick Peyron) 6-7-7-3-6-7-6 – 47
8. Team Korea (Peter Burling) 5-9-10-8-2-5-10 – 40
9. Luna Rossa Piranha (Chris Draper) 9-6-3-10-10-6-9 – 36
10. China Team (Phil Robertson) 7-10-11-9-5-11-8 – 28
11. Luna Rossa Swordfish (Iker Martinez) 11-11-9-11-7-9-11 – 20
(Scoring, Races 1-6: 1st = 12 points, 2nd = 10, 3rd = 9, 4th = 8, 5th = 7, 6th = 6, 7th = 5, 8th = 4, 9th = 3, 10th = 2, 11th = 1; Race 7: 1st = 40 points, 2nd = 25, 3rd = 20, 4th = 16, 5th = 13, 6th = 11, 7th = 10, 8th = 9, 9th = 8, 10th = 7, 11th = 6)

AC World Series San Francisco Match Racing Championship
1. ORACLE TEAM USA SPITHILL,

2. Emirates Team New Zealand, 

3. Artemis Racing – White,

4. Artemis Racing – Red, 

5. ORACLE TEAM USA COUTTS, 

6. Energy Team, 

7. J.P. Morgan BAR, 

8. Team Korea, 

9.China Team, 

10. Luna Rossa Piranha, 

11. Luna Rossa Swordfish

Spithill Capsize in San Francisco

Best of ACWS 2011-2012 - Video

Third skipper for Team Korea

Fonte: The Daily Sail


Gilles Martin-Raget / ACEA



Peter Burling to step in as Nathan Outteridge is poached
Thursday September 20th 2012, Author: James Boyd, Location: United Kingdom

Team Korea is to have its third skipper in 12 months following the poaching of their second skipper, recently crowned 49er gold medallist, Nathan Outteridge, who is believed to be heading for Artemis Racing. This season Outteridge replaced Chris Draper who sailed the 2011 season with the fledgling Team Korea, but then went on to become one of (at least) two drivers for Luna Rossa.

New helmsman for the Korean America's Cup challenger has been announced as New Zealander Peter Burling. Burling, 21, was the Olympic silver medallist at London 2012 and he and crew Blair Tuke were training partners with Outteridge and his crew Iain Jensen. He is held to be one of the New Zealand's most talented young sailors.

Burling will take the helm of the White Tiger Challenge AC45 for the next America's Cup World Series regatta in San Francisco being held over 2-7 October, where he will become the youngest skipper in the competition by a considerable margin. This is a position he is familiar with, having been the youngest ever sailor to represent New Zealand at the Olympic Games, when he sailed in the 470 class in 2008 in China. Team Korea plans to start training in San Francisco from September 24.

Dong Young-Kim, founder of Team Korea, said: “Peter is the type of young talented newcomer who has been attracted by the high performance boats used in the America’s Cup World Series and we look forward to continuing the team’s strong performances. We are proud of what our new team has achieved in its first-ever participation in the America’s Cup.”

Another temporary change in the Korean cew will see two-time Volvo Ocean Race competitor New Zealand Andy McLean standing in for Mark Bulkeley who has a clash with own wedding to trophy wife Helen Grundy.

At present no announcement has been made over whether Team Korea will be going ahead with the build of an AC72 (and in turn will be able to challenge for the 34th America's Cup next year), although they are believed to have secured a substantial portion of their budget.

Americas Cup em Directo

Luna Rossa crews and Ben Ainslie advance

Fonte: ACWS


Copyright ACEA 2012 / Photo: Gilles Martin-Raget
The America’s Cup World Series opened in San Francisco on Wednesday afternoon with a trio of Match Racing Qualifiers. Six teams were competing for the three final spots in the Quarterfinals in the first racing of the 34th America’s Cup on San Francisco Bay.

China Team Capsize

Big guns join Luna Rossa

Fonte: The Daily Sail

Gilles Martin-Raget / ACEA

Iker Martinez and Xabi Fernandez among the latest recruits


Luna Rossa Challenge 2013 has strengthened its team with the arrival of five new sailors: Simone de Mari (foredeck/grinder), Iker Martinez de Lizarduy (helmsman/afterguard), Xabier Fernández Gaztañaga (trimmer/foredeck), Marco Montis (grinder) and Wade Morgan (grinder/foredeck).

ACWS San Francisco skippers look ahead to ‘exhilarating’ racing on San Francisco Bay

Fonte: ACWS


© ACEA 2012/ Photo Gilles Martin-Raget Download


© ACEA 2012/ Photo Gilles Martin-Raget Download



© ACEA 2012/ Photo Gilles Martin-Raget Download


© ACEA 2012/ Photo Gilles Martin-Raget Download




The 11 skippers leading crews at ACWS San Francisco this week were introduced to the public this evening at a ceremony on the main stage of the ACWS Race Village at Marina Green.

This afternoon the fleet took to San Francisco Bay for a practice session in winds between 17 and 20 knots. The action was exhilarating for JR Hildebrand, 24, a San Francisco native and IndyCar driver who spent the day as guest racer with ORACLE TEAM USA SPITHILL.

“It was awesome. It’s such a cool thing to be a part of,” said Hildebrand, the 2011 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year. “You don’t have to be going 200 mph to feel like you’re hauling ass. It was very cool. It’s a like-relationship, racing cars and racing boats. Everything’s very sensitive. How these guys work together to get right up against the other boats is really impressive. It gives me a lot of appreciation for what these guys do.”

In other practice action, Emirates Team New Zealand and China Team each capsized. Five crews now have capsized since practice began. Here’s what the skippers had to say at this morning’s media briefing:

Ben Ainslie, J.P. Morgan BAR
On managing the AC45 on the racecourse: “It’s going to be exciting. It’ll be slightly chaotic on the start line in 20 knots with 11 boats; I’m sure we’re going to see an amazing spectacle. I’m going to have to back off because the big thing is to avoid any damage.”

Russell Coutts, ORACLE TEAM USA COUTTS
On the predicted flood tide changing tactics: “Wind shifts will still be important upwind and downwind. Judging the approach to marks is going to be challenging as well. If you get that wrong and have to do extra tacks or jibes it’ll be expensive, but I’m looking forward to it.”

Yann Guichard, Energy Team
On being back on the helm after coaching: “After a good training session last week I’m very pleased to be back and quite confident, but there are 11 boats on the start line so the risk management is essential because a capsize can happen suddenly.”

Terry Hutchinson, Artemis Racing White
On what’s new on board since ACWS Newport: “We have the same crew as the previous regatta in Newport. We have a new J3, the heavy-air jib; no surprise there. We’ve been developing some Code 0s and trying to figure out which one to use.”

John Kostecki, ORACLE TEAM USA SPITHILL
On what he’s looking forward to this week: “I’m looking forward to showcasing the America’s Cup World Series to people here in the Bay area. I think it’ll be pretty cool going to Marina Green and watching the racing. It’s a unique racecourse because we’ll be racing parallel to the shoreline.”

Santiago Lange, Artemis Racing Red
On racing the AC45 compared to the Tornado catamaran: “From the point of view of stability or digging the bow, I think the AC45 is safer than a Tornado. But it’s a lot harder because there are five people on board and it’s very physical for the crew.”

Nathan Outteridge, Team Korea
On the expected crowded starting line: “When you have a lot of boats near you and you can’t steer where you want to steer, that’s when it gets nerve-wracking. If you steer to the wrong position you capsize, and if there’s a boat in your way there are going to be capsizes.”

Phil Robertson, China Team
On returning to the ACWS: “We’re extremely happy to be back racing the ACWS. There couldn’t be a better place to be sailing than San Francisco Bay. The wind is fantastic and the boats are extremely exciting to sail in that much pressure; they’re a handful.”

Max Sirena, Luna Rossa Swordfish
On the strong winds expected this week: “We’ve never sailed so much in such strong wind. The only day was one in Naples when we had 25-30 knots. It’s going to be tough because the AC45 is a really powerful boat and with the wing you can’t depower it that much.”

Jimmy Spithill, ORACLE TEAM USA SPITHILL
On racing in front of the home crowd: “It’s huge. We had the final event of the last AC World Series in Newport, and one of the key things to winning was the fan support. It was overwhelming. I really want to see everyone coming down here and getting into it.”

Wednesday’s match racing schedule features No. 6-seed Team Korea vs. No. 11 J.P. Morgan BAR, No. 7 Luna Rossa – Piranha vs. No. 10 Artemis Racing Red and No. 8 Luna Rossa – Swordfish vs. No. 9 China Team. Each match is a best-of-three.

Racing continues Thursday with two pairs of the match racing quarterfinals and the first two fleet races. View the racing lineup at ACWS San Francisco Regatta Format and additional event information at the ACWS San Francisco event page

ACWS SAN FRANCISCO FEATURES 11 CREWS, 55 SAILORS AND A NEW FORMAT

Fonte: ACWS



© ACEA 2012/ Photo Gilles Martin-Raget Download


© ACEA 2012/ Photo Gilles Martin-Raget Download



© ACEA 2012/ Photo Gilles Martin-Raget Download


© ACEA 2012/ Photo Gilles Martin-Raget Download




Featuring a new team, more boats and more sailors the second season of the America’s Cup World Series is scheduled to begin Wednesday, Aug. 22, at ACWS San Francisco.

The entry list of eight teams includes Artemis Racing (SWE), China Team (CHN), Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Energy Team (FRA), J.P. Morgan BAR (GBR), Luna Rossa Challenge 2013 (ITA), ORACLE TEAM USA (USA) and Team Korea (KOR).

The fleet now numbers 11 boats with Artemis Racing, Luna Rossa Challenge and ORACLE TEAM USA each fielding two crews, and the return of China Team. At this regatta there are 55 sailors competing from 12 countries. (View the event crew list at ACWS San Francisco Crew List.)

“With a new team, more boats and more sailors, ACWS San Francisco should be an outstanding regatta,” said America’s Cup Regatta Director Iain Murray. “The racecourse will certainly be more intense than we've seen before, and the consistent strong winds and current-driven chop will keep the competitors on their toes. We’ve already seen a few capsizes in training, but we know everyone will be on their game when the starting gun fires.”

The first day of the new season will see six of the teams contesting a series of match racing qualifiers with the three winners advancing to the Quarterfinal Round, scheduled Thursday and Friday, where they’ll meet the top five seeds based on the standings from the 2011-12 ACWS Match Racing Championship.

One of the qualifier teams is newcomer J.P. Morgan BAR, skippered by Ben Ainslie. Ainslie recently won his fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal – his fifth medal overall – and joins the ACWS fleet with the long-term goal of leading an America’s Cup challenge.

“As a kid growing up I really wanted to be part of the Olympics and do well at that and also to be part of an America’s Cup team that could win,” said Ainslie. “This is the next stage in my career and I’m really excited to be a part of the Cup.”

ACWS San Francisco will also see the debut of a second yacht from Artemis Racing, the Swedish Challenger of Record for the America’s Cup. Artemis Racing Red will be helmed by Santiago Lange of Argentina, a two-time Olympic bronze medalist in the Tornado class, and is entered alongside stablemate Artemis Racing White, led by team skipper Terry Hutchinson.

Hutchinson’s crew is the No. 1 seed based on last season’s match racing championship.

“We were certainly happy to win last season, but that’s done and dusted,” said Hutchinson. “Racing on San Francisco Bay might be the most challenging of all the venues we’ve visited.”

Wednesday’s racing schedule features No. 6-seed Team Korea vs. No. 11 J.P. Morgan BAR, No. 7 Luna Rossa – Piranha vs. No. 10 Artemis Racing Red and No. 8 Luna Rossa – Swordfish vs. No. 9 China Team. Each match is a best-of-three.

Racing continues Thursday with two pairs of the match racing quarterfinals and the first two fleet races. View the racing lineup at ACWS San Francisco Regatta Format and additional event information at the ACWS San Francisco event page.

ACWS - Opening press conference - Veneza

Começa dentro de momentos:

Luna Rossa thrills crowd - wins grand finale Fleet Racing Championship at the America’s Cup World Series in Naples

Fonte: AC

Chris Draper led his Luna Rossa crew to a thrilling win in the final fleet race in Naples, Italy, collecting 50 points for his efforts to vault up the leaderboard and win the AC World Series Naples Fleet Racing Championship. The victory kicked off celebrations among the tens of thousands of Italian America’s Cup fans lining the Naples waterfront to catch a glimpse of their heroes.




© ACEA 2012/ Photo Gilles Martin-Raget Download


© ACEA 2012/ Photo Gilles Martin-Raget Download



© ACEA 2012/ Photo Gilles Martin-Raget Download


© ACEA 2012/ Photo Gilles Martin-Raget Download






“We’re very pleased with the event, with the team effort,” an excited Draper said afterwards. “We didn't have huge expectations, but to come away with a first (in the fleet racing) and a second (in the match racing) is awesome."

Conditions were light, tricky and testing on Sunday, but Draper and his crew were up to the challenge. As was James Spithill and his ORACLE Racing crew, who appeared to be dead and buried in last place early in the race, only to recover and claim an impressive second place.

“The key thing was hanging in there and looking for the opportunities, and there were plenty out there,” Spithill said. “JK (tactician John Kostecki) and the guys did a very nice job… In those sorts of conditions you can go from hero to zero in a matter of seconds. We knew we just had to hang tough and wait for the opportunities. The guys found some good ways back and got us up there.”

Earlier in the afternoon, the Match Racing Championship was decided when Terry Hutchinson and his Artemis Racing team took advantage of a pre-start mistake by Chris Draper’s team to sail away with a win in the sudden-death Final. The victory was a vindication of sorts for Artemis, who had capsized in the first race of the regatta, damaging their wing and being shut out of the points on Wednesday.

“I can't say enough about the effort from the guys on the boat and on the shore,” Hutchinson said. “After Wednesday, we’d have taken today's result, that's for sure. Our team trainer says it's not how you fall down, but how you get up. Now we have to come back in a few weeks in Venice and work on our consistency.”

No records were set in this edition of the AC500 Speed Trials, as the light winds meant the fastest runs came at the end, during a brief period of stronger conditions. ORACLE Racing Bundock was able to fend off Artemis Racing by a microscopic .02 seconds to post the fastest time.

A major story in Naples has been the enthusiasm of the city as shown by the size of the crowds in the event village. Sunday was no exception, with the crowds lined deep along the waterfront to watch the action. Much of the support, unsurprisingly, was for Luna Rossa.

“We sailed along the shore after the finish and it's insane to see how many people are here,” said Luna Rossa’s Draper. “As a sailor you'd never imagine having so many people watching. It's great for the sport, and great to be part of an Italian team in front of all these people. We're very proud.”

The America’s Cup World Series now packs up and moves north to Venice, for the fifth stop on the circuit in May.

The results from Naples mean there is a new leader on the overall AC World Series Championship leaderboard. ORACLE Racing Spithill has overhauled Emirates Team New Zealand to lead by a slender one point after four events. The 2011-2012 AC World Series concludes in Newport, Rhode Island on July 1, where it appears the Championship will be decided.

Fleet Racing Championship - Standings (seven races):

1. Luna Rossa - Piranha (Helmsman: Chris Draper); 92 points
2. ORACLE Racing - Spithill (Skipper: James Spithill); 77 points
3. Emirates Team New Zealand (Skipper: Dean Barker); 60 points
4. Energy Team (Skipper: Yann Guichard); 54 points
5. Team Korea (Skipper: Nathan Outteridge); 49 points
6. Luna Rossa - Swordfish (Helmsman: Paul Campbell-James); 41 points
7. Artemis Racing (Skipper: Terry Hutchinson); 40 points
8. ORACLE Racing - Bundock (Skipper: Darren Bundock); 37 points
9. China Team (Skipper: Fred Le Peutrec); 15 points


Match Racing Championship – Sunday’s races

Final – Artemis Racing beat Luna Rossa Piranha
SF1 – Artemis Racing beat Luna Rossa Swordfish
SF2 – Luna Rossa Piranha beat ORACLE Racing Bundock



2011-12 America’s Cup World Series Provisional leaderboard


Place Team Match Points Fleet Points TOTAL POINTS

1  ORACLE Racing - Spithill 30 37 67

2  Emirates Team New Zealand 30 36 66

3  Artemis Racing 33 21 54

4  Energy Team 25 23 48

5T  ORACLE Racing - Bundock 26 21 47

5T  Team Korea 25 22 47

7  China Team 12 14 26

8  Green Comm Racing 11 12 23

9  Luna Rossa - Piranha 9 10 19

10 Luna Rossa - Swordfish 7 5 12



See full results here

ACWS - Napoles - Dia 5

ACWS - Dia 2

Emirates Team New Zealand dominates on day two with Luna Rossa performing well in front of large crowds in Naples
Naples, Italy, 12/04/2012

America’s Cup World Series leading skipper Dean Barker showed his Emirates Team New Zealand remains the class of the fleet by winning both fleet races on Thursday. In scoring two victories, Barker now sits clear ahead of his rival James Spithill by a whopping 9 points on the Naples leaderboard.


© ACEA 2012/ Photo Gilles Martin-Raget Download


© ACEA 2012/ Photo Gilles Martin-Raget Download



© ACEA 2012/ Photo Gilles Martin-Raget Download


© ACEA 2012/ Photo Gilles Martin-Raget Download

The local favorites, the two Luna Rossa Challenge crews, also had a good afternoon in the beautiful sea breeze conditions just off the sea front of Naples, with each crew earning a second place finish.

“That’s more like what we prepared for. The boys sailed awesomely today, the boat handling was epic,” said Chris Draper, the helmsman on Luna Rossa Piranha, who scored a 2-3 this afternoon. “We’re really pleased.”

Crowds lined the waterfront on this sunny afternoon to watch the racing, with the finish line just meters from the shore.

“The people of Naples are really turning out in force to support us,” Barker said, as he and his crew saluted the crowd after finishing. “If this is what happens on Thursday, I can only imagine what we’ll see on the weekend.”

Before the fleet races today, three matches were sailed, one of which pitted the two ORACLE Racing teams against each other. On this day, it was Bundock winning over Spithill, an upset of the form guide.

“We were up against the winner of the America’s Cup, so to walk away with his scalp was great,” skipper Darren Bundock said with enthusiasm. “It pushes us straight through to the semi finals, so we’re looking good in the match racing.”

Artemis Racing and Luna Rossa Piranha were the other match race winners and both will advance to the next stage of the competition; the losers in each match have been knocked out and assigned a final finishing position.

The teams also completed the ‘spare’ race on Thursday afternoon. This fleet race will only be scored if there is no racing on Sunday. In that case, the race will be broadcast on Sunday afternoon and reported on at that time.

The program for Friday starts with Match Racing followed by two Fleet Races. The start of the first match is scheduled for 1330 CEST.

Fleet Racing Championship - Provisional Standings Day Two (after four races):

1. Emirates Team New Zealand (Skipper: Dean Barker); 38 points
2. ORACLE Racing - Spithill (Skipper: James Spithill); 29 points
3. Luna Rossa - Piranha (Helmsman: Chris Draper); 27 points
4. Team Korea (Skipper: Nathan Outteridge); 27 points
5. Energy Team (Skipper: Yann Guichard); 25 points
6. Luna Rossa - Swordfish (Helmsman: Paul Campbell-James); 24 points
7. ORACLE Racing - Bundock (Skipper: Darren Bundock); 16 points
8. Artemis Racing (Skipper: Terry Hutchinson); 12 points
9. China Team (Skipper: Fred Le Peutrec); 4 points

Match Racing Championship – Provisional Results:

Q1 - Artemis Racing beat China Team
QF1 - ORACLE Racing Bundock beat ORACLE Racing Spithill
QF2 - Luna Rossa Piranha beat Team Korea

China Team finishes ninth in the Match Racing Championship; Artemis Racing advances to QF3.

ORACLE Racing Spithill finishes seventh in the Match Racing Championship; ORACLE Racing Bundock advances to SF2.

Team Korea finishes sixth in the Match Racing Championship; Luna Rossa Piranha advances to SF2.

See full results and format here.