America’s Cup power ranking: New Zealand team flies to the top

A dominant New Zealand team, an improved British team and the Americans and Italians fighting.

The America’s Cup World Series came to life on the second day in Auckland and the hosts were the big drivers.

What we did find was that these fantastic flying machines are fully capable of racing, promising great promise for the Prada Cup Challenger series in January and February and the America’s Cup match in March.

Here’s how the pecking order looks ahead to the final day of the World Series on Saturday and the Christmas Cup on Sunday.

READ MORE:
* America’s Cup: Jimmy Spithill gives warning: ‘We are all chasing the New Zealand team’
* America’s Cup: Luna Rossa and American Magic trade blows, NZ team recovers from near disaster
* America’s Cup: Something big will happen, blink and you will miss it

1 EMIRATES TEAM NEW ZEALAND (formerly No. 2)

The defenders have an absolute weapon in Te Rehutai, their futuristic new ship built to control the Auld Mug. His absolute speed has the three challengers in awe as they acknowledge that the Kiwis are “one click ahead”, which is an understatement when looking at the speedometer. Peter Burling used that speed advantage to get out of some tough times. Those careless incidents will upset the Kiwis, but they have great confidence in their hardware. Burling shared the starting box honors with Sir Ben Ainslie, although the crafty Briton absolutely buried Burling in his second race of the day. But Burling was able to step on the gas and knock Britannia down, chewing a 500-meter deficit in a matter of moments. The fastest boat wins in this game and right now that boat is with the New Zealand team. That’s why they skip a spot to top the rankings.

2 AMERICAN MAGIC (formerly No. 1)

Another solid day for the New York Yacht Club team that had two massive duels with Luna Rossa in what is quickly shaping up to be a juicy rivalry for the upcoming challenger series. The Americans struggled in the opening game when they struggled with a foil arm during a tack and nearly capsized. It was a great stop but it made them lose the race. Not without a fight though, and Dean Barker’s ability to get the Americans back in the race was impressive. Race two against Luna Rossa was a match-racing classic and American Magic confirmed their speed advantage, particularly against the wind, for a victory that had their union high-fives in every way. The open jubilation was a sign of what this meant to them.

3 LUNA ROSSA PRADA PIRELLI (formerly No 3)

This was an improved effort by the Italians after they had some sloppy moments on the first day against the Kiwis. They had trouble at the start box with Jimmy Spithill late twice and blaming the computer software and the readings coming out of the race direction in the tight starting zone. Luna Rossa definitely has speed against the wind and that was the advantage they used to see with American Magic in their first meeting. Some good tactical decisions on a tough field kept them in the gripping second meeting with the Americans. The official challenger has a good package and is working on consistency.

4 INEOS Team UK (formerly No 4)

No movement in the power rankings, but a huge change in mindset from Ainslie’s distressed outfit. After a week of breakdown horror, the British reaped the rewards for tireless work by their “unsung heroes” on the jetty on Thursday night to prepare Britannia for action. They were never going to beat Team New Zealand, but taking two laps of the track was a victory in itself. Small steps for this union at this stage. There was a masterclass from Ainslie in the starting box in race two when he forced Burling to gybe late and put the kiwis on his helmet, leaving them for what seemed like an age to get back on his foils. Ainslie knew her only hope was to get off to a good start, and jumped to a 500-meter lead. But even that wasn’t enough to stop New Zealand in a sign that this well-funded British team has a mountain to climb in the coming weeks if it wants to be competitive.