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The New Zealand team unleashed their speed to achieve the first pass of America’s Cup match 36, then came back from a long way back in a bizarre eighth race to beat Italian challenger Luna Rossa twice on Monday and take a lead of 5-3 in the first to win. -Seven victories in the series.
If the New Zealand team retains the Cup, they can if they win both races on Tuesday, it will be because of the unprecedented events of the second of the two races on Monday when they turned what seemed likely to be a crushing defeat into a near win incomprehensible.
Luna Rossa held an early lead in a race that started conventionally, defending that lead to round the first mark with a 16-second lead. Then the race became extraordinary, perhaps one of the most extraordinary in all the 170-year history of the Cup.
It seemed likely that the New Zealand team would roll the Luna Rossa in the first downwind, but when the boats leveled off they gybed in a weak breeze. His regatta boat, Te Rehutai, dropped its foils and stood almost motionless in the middle of the course as Luna Rossa sailed four minutes ahead.
The race seemed to be over and the stalemate that has existed throughout the match, as each team won a race in the first three days, seemed likely to continue.
But unbelievably, after rounding the second mark, Luna Rossa sailed into a wind hole near the top of the field, fell off the foils and was left without power. The New Zealand team rose again on its foils and reduced the huge deficit.
Always on the verge of stalling, Te Rehutai managed to round the top mark and turn a 4-minute, 8-second deficit on one mark to a 4-minute 27-second lead on the next.
The race was shortened to five stages and New Zealand managed to finish within the race time limit, to win by 3 minutes 55 seconds.
In the first race of the day, the New Zealand team showed an extra twist to their rumored speed, coming from behind for the first time in the series to win the first race of the day by 58 seconds.
Relive the action below:
The Copa América match resumed today in moderate conditions, however race director Iain Murray warned of another uncertain day on Tuesday.
Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa dueled on the E course near Waiheke Island today, with winds expected between 9 and 13 knots for the race, starting at 16:15.
The schedule remained as expected yesterday, with Luna Rossa getting into port in the first race of the day.
The teams could not run yesterday due to lack of wind. Murray said he was close at times, but never reached the threshold to allow teams to navigate.
He warned there could be another such day this week, with conditions looking less than ideal on Tuesday before recovering later in the week.
“Tomorrow doesn’t look pretty,” Murray said. “I guess we’ll wait and see with that one.
“An important factor yesterday was that the clouds started to come back over the city and once the land stopped warming, the winds stopped …” Murray said.
When asked if the teams had suggested calling a day off for tomorrow, Murray hinted at the continuing tension between the New Zealand team and Luna Rossa.
“It’s a simple matter of whether they have to agree,” Murray said. “Tomorrow seems light, that’s the current forecast, but they are not high resolution models … so it’s a bit early to tell. Right now it seems very shaky.”
Sunday races abandoned
Cup officials made the decision to postpone the race until Monday, as the winds did not pick up enough to reach the 6.5-knot threshold needed to run on Sunday.
On Saturday, Luna Rossa and Team New Zealand shared the spoils again, with the match tied at 3-3.
Luna Rossa took advantage of Team NZ’s error in pre-start to win the first race of the day by 18 seconds and, in a mirror image, the New Zealand team pounced on Luna Rossa’s error to win the race 6-1 minute, 41 seconds.
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A team has to win both races in one day to get out of the deadlock, but Luna Rossa’s co-helmsman Jimmy Spithill said teams can only focus on the next race.
“We are not looking too far,” he said. “Every day we come and try to focus on the race ahead.
“There will be a lot of lessons learned from both races today. We will come back, as I am sure the other guys will, and we will come back fighting stronger and ready to roll.”
To this day, each of the four starts in the series had been won by the team that had port entry into the starting box and that won the start. New Zealand skipper Peter Burling said that was a coincidence and was proven correct when the team coming from starboard, or from the right side of the field, won both races on Saturday.
Races five and six were held on Track A off Takapuna Beach in Auckland with a constant sea breeze of seven to 11 knots, slightly stronger in the first race than in the second.
Conditions again seemed perfect for the Luna Rossa, whose boat is designed to sail best in the lightest wind range. Luna Rossa’s larger blades make it better able to stand upright in light wind, they also make it more stable and able to maneuver faster in light sea breezes.
But while Saturday’s 1-1 draw once again left many questions unanswered, it appears that the boats are almost perfectly matched for speed under those conditions and the starts are decisive.
In the first race, in a time and distance race to the starting line, the New Zealand team tried to lose speed and fell. Burling had to push the bow down to regain enough speed to turn, and in the meantime Luna Rossa went over the line and away to an immediate 200-meter lead.
“Obviously we fell off the foil on top of them,” Burling said. “We thought we had a bit more time to kill than we actually had. We couldn’t get going again and take off and they closed the race pretty well thereafter.”
The lead was unchanged for most of the race. The New Zealand team made slight progress on the second and third beat, but the 200-meter lead remained.
Luna Rossa had wanted the left side of the field and with her initial advantage she was able to take it and defend it. Throughout the race, the New Zealand team kept bouncing to the underdog right side, taking advantage of the pressure in the middle of the course.
New Zealand was able to hold out for the entire race but, with a steady breeze, they couldn’t get past Luna Rossa’s early lead.
“I think we did a very good job at the start and it again proved to be a very important part of the race,” said Luna Rossa co-helmsman Francesco Bruni. “But I also think we sailed a lot better than we did in race two yesterday.
“I think the left was the right decision and during the race the right didn’t look so good.”
The second race of the day was a reflection of the first. From the port entrance, Luna Rossa dove into the far right corner of the start box but, as she prepared to return on her way to the line, she seemed to get stuck in a spot of light and it was not turned on.
Luna Rossa slowed down and the New Zealand team maintained speed in their time and distance, crossing the line first and quickly sailing to an advantage of almost 400 meters.
“I think it was just a matter of getting caught in the wind and we couldn’t get the boat back on the line,” Spithill said. “It’s a minefield, especially at the starting box and we couldn’t accelerate the boat.”
– with AP
Schedule:
The America’s Cup match is a best of 13 series, with the winner crowned champion and awarded the Auld Mug. The racing window for each race day will be around 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., with the first race of each day scheduled for 4:15 p.m.
March 15: Race 7 and 8
March 16: Race 9 and 10
March 17: Race 11 * and 12 *
March 18: Race 13 *
* if necessary.
Odd:
Race 7:
New Zealand Team – $ 1.65
Luna Rossa – $ 2.10
Overall America’s Cup Winner:
New Zealand Team – $ 1.50
Luna Rossa – $ 2.45
How to watch and stream:
The Herald will have live updates at nzherald.co.nz/sport with AUT navigation professor Mark Orams, and you can hear live commentary on Newstalk ZB, Gold AM and iHeartRadio.
America’s Cup coverage is free on TVNZ. You can also stream the action live or on demand on tvnz.co.nz or on the Copa América YouTube channel.
Are you going to compete in the Cup?
• Give yourself enough time and consider taking a ferry, train or bus to see the cup.
• Make sure your AT Hop card is in your pocket. It is the best way to ride.
• Don’t forget to scan QR codes with the NZ Covid tracking app when you are on public transport and enter the America’s Cup village.
• For more ways to enjoy race day, visit at.govt.nz/americascup.
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