America’s Cup 2017 › Catering Erlangen

Kiwis Dominate Oracle to Reclaim America’s Cup
The Story in Photos – Starts, Errors, Penalities
Brand Identity: Brand Extension, Brand Diluton?
Ask Jack: When and where will the next America’s Cup be held?

——————————————————————————–

Kiwis Dominate Oracle to Reclaim America’s Cup

Kiwis jubeln

If the 2013 America’s Cup seemed like „The Empire Strikes Back,“ 2017 gave us „Return of the Kiwis.“ Peter Burling’s Luke Skywalker vanquished Larry Ellison’s Darth Vader racking up eight race wins while Oracle could manage only one. Jimmy Spithill and the Oracle crew seemed to succumb to Jedi mind tricks, losing seven of the nine starts, going OCS in two races, sailing out of bounds once, misjudging laylines both upwind and down and falling off their foils in several tacks and gybes.

——————————————————————————–

Starts

The Match started out badly for Oracle when they were over the start line early in the first race.

Rennbeginn

nach Start

The following Saturday, Oracle was again OCS, in Race 5.

Start Race 5

On Sunday 25 June at the start of Race 7, Oracle seemed to be in a strong position to weather of New Zealand and faster.

Start Race 7

But three seconds before the start, Oracle helmsman Jimmy Spithill made a quick turn to starboard, slowing the boat and handing control to the Kiwis.

Start Race 7

Start Race 7In Race 7 Oracle crossed the line over a boat length behind and slower than the Kiwis.

Start Race 7

In the pre-start of the second race on Sunday 25 June, things went even worse for Oracle. Peter Burling hooked Oracle to leeward and forced them almost head to wind before speeding off to big lead at the first mark. In this photo, Peter’s left hand is reaching for the protest button. The umpires green flagged the incident, but the damage was done.

damage

Unforced Boundary Error in Race 8

After their poor start, Oracle compounded their problems by going outside the boundary and picking up a penalty at the top of Leg 3. Losing Race 8 put the Kiwis at match point. They closed out the win the following day.

Race 8

Slow Gybe in Race 9 Signalled the End for Oracle

Race 9

In the final race, Oracle got a good start and led at Mark 1. But when both teams gybed at the boundary on Leg 2, the Kiwis moved into the lead with a better gybe and stretched out their lead to win the race comfortably.

Oracle led to the boundary on Leg 2 of Race 9.

New Zealand executed a flawless gybe while Oracle’s was a bit slower.

Race 9

The Kiwis took command before the first leeward gate, and stretched out their lead from there.

Race 9

How Good Were My America’s Cup Match Predictions?

Before the Match began, I made some predictions. Some were better than others…

Neither team will sweep the other – it will be a back and forth battle.
Not so good. Oracle managed to win one race out of nine – hardly a back and forth battle.

The racing will be intense, with frequent lead changes after the first downwind leg. The first boat to Mark 1 – the end of the short blast reach after the start – will almost always be leading at Gate 2, since there are few passing opportunities on the short first downwind leg.
On target.

It will come down to sailing – how well the teams execute their maneuvers.
Neither team will have an overwhelming speed advantage.
Mostly right. New Zealand was faster in the first four races, but Oracle made their boat faster between the two weekends of racing. Oracle’s errors – starting, tactics and boat handling – made things easier for the Kiwis.

Oracle’s Jimmy Spithill will be very aggressive, especially in the pre-starts.
Wrong. Spithill won only two starts in nine races. He was over early in the Race 1 and Race 5. He gave away the start in Race 7 by slowing unnecessarily. In Race 8 Burling hooked Spithill and forced him head to wind.

Very light air will favor the Kiwis.
On target.

——————————————————————————–

America’s Cup Identity – Brand Extension or Brand Dilution?

AECA

When ACEA persuaded Louis Vuitton to return as a sponsor they attached the luxury brand’s name to all phases of the competition:

Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series
Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers
Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Challenger Playoffs
America’s Cup Match Presented by Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton designed their own logo for the event, which ACEA was not allowed to use on clothing or merchandise. Vuitton’s LV symbol was used on the wingsails instead of the traditional America’s Cup symbol.

Vuitton Sponsor ?

When Oracle and Emirates Team New Zealand faced off, it appeared that Louis Vuitton had become the „title sponsor“ of the America’s Cup Match.

Prizegiving Ceremony

Prizegiving

Oddly, no one presented the trophy to the Kiwis. It was brought on stage by its „body guards.“ At the prizegiving ceremony, before they were allowed to touch the America’s Cup, the Kiwis were presented with Louis Vuitton bags and instructed to hold them up for a photo op. Several team members decided to toss their bags to the crowd.

Standing in the crowd was Luna Rossa owner and Prada CEO Patrizio Bertelli. I got a chance to congratulate him on being the new Challenger of Record.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zC5Dknfua5U&feature=youtu.be

America’s Cup 26.06.2017

27. Juni 2017/in America's Cup 2017, Regatta/von Dr. Irvin Krumnacker

: 26/06/2017 – Bermuda (BDA) – 35th America’s Cup 2017 – 35th America’s Cup Match Presented by Louis Vuitton, Day 5

: America’s Cup Siegtabelle

: Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zC5Dknfua5U&feature=youtu.be

26 Jun 2017

Peter Burling and Emirates Team New Zealand win the 35th America’s Cup

Peter Burling and Emirates Team New Zealand have won the 35th America’s Cup.

Another dominant race win for Peter Burling and Emirates Team New Zealand in race nine of the America’s Cup Match, presented by Louis Vuitton, gave the Kiwi team victory on the Great Sound in Bermuda, sparking wild celebrations on board their America’s Cup Class (ACC) boat, and the team’s support boats on the Great Sound. Burling now adds the 35th America’s Cup to the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup trophy he won in San Francisco, 2013.

The Kiwi team dominated the final stage of the 35th America’s Cup, winning eight races to ORACLE TEAM USA’s one race win, giving the New Zealanders a final winning scoreline of 7-1.

The America’s Cup was last won by a team representing New Zealand in 2000 and they are now the Defenders of the America’s Cup for the 36th installment of the competition for the oldest trophy in international sport.

In the final press conference of the 35th America’s Cup, Grant Dalton, CEO of Emirates Team New Zealand, also announced that the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron has accepted the challenge of Circolo della Vela Sicilia, who will be the Challenger of Record for the 36th America’s Cup and will be represented by Luna Rossa.

America’s Cup Match, presented by Louis Vuitton
Race Nine
Race nine started with both Emirates Team New Zealand and ORACLE TEAM USA enjoying clean starts and engaged in a drag race to the first mark, the US team edging just ahead but then losing ground to their rivals on the run to the second mark.

Burling was serene at the helm of the Kiwi boat, displaying no nerves as he steered his team towards glory, but Spithill and the ORACLE TEAM USA crew were not giving up, pushing harder than ever to try and take the tie to race ten. However, it was not to be.

By the third mark the Challenge’s lead was up to 26 seconds, increasing further still at the fourth mark, up to 34 seconds, and from that point, barring mistakes by Burling and his all-conquering Emirates Team New Zealand crew, the die was cast.

ORACLE TEAM USA managed to peg back their rivals slightly in the latter stages of the race, but New Zealand sealed their win in impressive style, crossing the finish line for the final time in the 35th America’s Cup 55 seconds ahead of the US team.

Selected quotes from Emirates Team New Zealand, ORACLE TEAM USA and America’s Cup Event Authority

Peter Burling, helmsman, Emirates Team New Zealand:

“We’re just blown away. We came here to win the America’s Cup and right now we’re taking the America’s Cup back home to New Zealand.

“To be able to win eight races in Beautiful Bermuda in front of a big crowd of our own fans is overwhelming, we’re just happy to be able to share this moment with them, we’re just blown away.

“I’ve grown up watching this competition as a fan and to be a Kiwi and taking this Cup home is a dream come true.

“To be able to win this event at such a young age is an unreal feeling. However, I’m just a tiny part of a massive team and it is incredible to be able to reward the hard work of those hundreds of people who have supported us, not only here but back home in New Zealand as well.

“We’ve had to go through some incredibly tough times to get to this point. It has been an incredibly tough path to get past the rest of the challengers and then ORACLE TEAM USA and it’s credit to every team that competed.

“It’s so unique to get to sail these boats, every day they can be different. Our incredible shore team gave us that edge and to be able to reward their hard work and bring this Cup home with us is an amazing feeling.

“It’s just sinking in really and I think that will be the same feeling for all of those Kiwi fans watching us win the America’s Cup back home.

“I’d like to say thank you to Bermuda. It has been an amazing venue for a sailing event and I’ve absolutely loved this place, I’d love to come back at some stage.

Glenn Ashby, Skipper, Emirates Team New Zealand:

“It’s just an amazing feeling of satisfaction to have finally won the America’s Cup.

“It has been an incredibly tough journey to get here. We came across late to Bermuda from New Zealand and to be able to get the boat into good shape in such short time is all credit to our amazing team.

“I’m just so proud to be a part of this team and to be able to bring the Cup home and I want to thank the support of the whole country.

“What happened in 2013 was a brutal experience for everyone involved, to be so close was extremely disappointing and is something that will live with all of us for the rest of our lives.

“So to be able to come here a few years later and pull off an unbelievable victory has really redeemed that situation for New Zealand and it feels like justice has prevailed.

“I think we’ve seen some unbelievable advancements here with the boats and the type of races we’ve seen and it’s great for our sport. From a sailing perspective it’s going to be hard to sail anything else after what we’ve seen in these boats, the technology is just absolutely amazing.”

Grant Dalton, CEO, Emirates Team New Zealand:

“We’ve done it, finally!

“We probably don’t realise how big a deal this is back in New Zealand. I’ve been told that there was traffic jams at 4am with people trying to get to work just to see the races, which is utterly incredible.

“We’ve had a phenomenal group of guys, we’ve battled some serious adversity but as a group we’ve overcome everything. There have been a lot of people behind that and none more so than Matteo De Nora, who has stuck with the team through thick and thin and believed in everything that we have done. New Zealand owes a lifetime of gratitude to him for what we have achieved.

“We thought outside of the square and we did it our way. After San Francisco we knew we couldn’t out-spend other teams here so we had to out-think everyone. One of the things to come out of San Francisco is that we were out-designed and we knew this time round that we had to push that area.

“This time round we had no restrictions on design. We just wanted to see what we could come up with and we have achieved some truly amazing things that have been revolutionary in this sport.

“After San Francisco we had a pretty tough debrief and came up with 20 points that we had to change. One of those was that we had to invest in technology and the people that provide it. We also had to get our arms around the next generation of yachtsmen that were coming through and Peter (Burling) was one of those.

“He told me he wanted to be helmsman, so it was all about investing in the right people and giving them the responsibility to go out and achieve what we knew we could.

“It is important that we make the next America’s Cup affordable but we also need to remember that it is the America’s Cup and it is one of the top sports and not a little beach regatta. It is never going to be cheap.

“It is a fine balance between not making it prohibitively expensive, but not being so cheap that it devalues the competition.

“At the core of what we believe, we have to create an event that takes a lot of the good that has happened here, because there been a lot of good here. Just because we didn’t sign the Framework Agreement, that doesn’t mean to say there weren’t elements we didn’t agree with, it was just didn’t agree with every element.

“To me it is a privilege to host the America’s Cup. It is not a right and we will put in place rules and an organisation of our own that will do everything to be good enough.”

Jimmy Spithill, Skipper, ORACLE TEAM USA:

“On behalf of the whole of ORACLE TEAM USA, congratulations to Emirates Team New Zealand. What an incredible team. They’ve been a class above everyone in the 35th America’s Cup and we take our hats off to you. Well done.

“They sailed better than anyone else out here and so, rightly so, they are the 35th America’s Cup champions.

“The defeat hasn’t really sunk in yet and it is definitely weird looking at the trophy and knowing we won’t be taking it home.

“With hindsight there are a lot of things you would like to change but I think it’s far too early to say what might have gone wrong.

“Finally, I want to say, to Bermuda, you’ve welcomed us to your beautiful island and we’ve loved every moment of it. Thank you.”

Sir Russell Coutts, CEO, America’s Cup Event Authority, was quick to acknowledge the first New Zealand victory in the America’s Cup since 2000, saying, “I would like to offer my heartfelt congratulations and praise to everyone in Emirates Team New Zealand for winning the 35th America’s Cup.

“Helmed brilliantly by Peter Burling, with the guiding influence of skipper Glenn Ashby, supported by a world class sailing, design and shore team, they performed magnificently here in Bermuda, winning in dominant fashion.

“I know just how much this victory means to the team and to the people of New Zealand. This is a remarkable achievement, one that will be rightly celebrated in Bermuda and across New Zealand and I hope those celebrations live long in the memory, much as the team’s victory in Bermuda has now written a new chapter in the history of the America’s Cup. Congratulations Emirates Team New Zealand. You deserve your victory, you deserve the accolades coming your way, and now, you deserve to enjoy it.”

“For me I think the reason we won was because of what happened four years ago. This team has gone through some really tough spots from San Francisco and to be able to reward this team with the America’s Cup is the best feeling, because they are such an incredible team. “I’d like to say thank you to Bermuda. It has been an amazing venue for a sailing event and I’ve absolutely loved this place, I’d love to come back at some stage. Glenn Ashby, Skipper, Emirates Team New Zealand:

Double gold olympic medalists, America's Cup

America’s Cup 26.06.2017

26. Juni 2017/in America's Cup 2017, Regatta/von Dr. Irvin Krumnacker

Red Bull Youth America´s Cup Wrap-Up:

„It was like a Hollywood movie”

No one could have scripted a more exciting ending to the 2017 Red Bull Youth America’s Cup on June 21, as New Zealand was toppled from almost certain triumph in the last seconds of the last race by a determined British team, and Bermuda emerged as the new darlings of sailing. Here, final words and a peek at the future from the Sport Directors, two-time Olympic champions Roman Hagara and Hans Peter Steinacher.

Roman and Hans Peter, you spent four years planning the 2017 Red Bull Youth America’s Cup. Were you satisfied with how everything turned out?

RH: Yes, really satisfied. We managed to build the lineup to 12 teams in this edition – 12 really good teams – and the sailing was great. Plus the local Bermuda team, who were new to this, not only qualified for the Final but then won the first race, and the crowd was behind them all the way. There were something like 4,000 spectators, which is a big success for an event like this.

Some of the members of the Bermuda team had never sailed a boat before they started training 18 months ago. Do you think having the regatta on the Great Sound, with TeamBDA such a great role model, will have an effect on the sailing scene here?

RH: Absolutely. TeamBDA is already looking toward their next steps in the future, and Bermuda’s youth program has a lot of kids sailing now. I think it’s had a really big impact.

You predicted that the final day was going to be edge-of-your-seat stuff, and it was! What about that unbelievable last race, where in the final moments Germany hit a marker, Sweden and Switzerland incurred penalties, and Great Britain swooped in to snatch the overall win from the Kiwis?

HPS: Land Rover BAR Academy deserved the win, because they were the best boat overall in all six races of the Finals. But you never could have imagined how this regatta would play out as everything came down to the surprises in that last race. It was like a Hollywood movie: a good Hollywood movie for Great Britain and a bad one for New Zealand. On Day Two, New Zealand was the boat with the best skills. They seemed relaxed and were able to have three wins, but Great Britain was the best boat overall across the six races over the two days.

To follow your movie analogy, the regatta had a new leading lady, Annabel Vose, the tactician for that winning Land Rover BAR Academy crew, who became the first woman on board a boat in the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup.

HPS: Yes, we had Annabel’s story on top of all the Hollywood drama, as well as Ceci Wollmann, who was a woman team member on shore for TeamBDA [Bermuda]. For sure we are proud that there were women on two teams in the Final, and that one is now champion of the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup. Annabel was so good on the boat. She was truly part of the team, and it’s a great story in a sport like this – where it’s so difficult to handle these big boats in these conditions – that a really nice and extremely talented young woman was better than all the boys in her role.

Speaking of the boat, there are very few sailors in the world, even among the top professionals, who have sailed an AC45F. How did these 18- to 24-year-olds handle it?

RH: That was always the question we heard, even in the 2013 edition of the regatta before we were on foils: “Can youth sailors handle this boat?” And this year, just as in 2013, they managed really well. They prepared thoroughly beforehand, and several of the teams gained experience sailing GC32s, so most had foiling experience when they came to Bermuda. In the rules they were allowed seven days to practice on the AC45F before official training sessions began. So again, preparation was great from the teams, and in a variety of wind conditions. We were never in doubt that they could handle the boat, and their performances showed that they’ve developed skills they’ll need if they move on to professional sailing careers.

Of course you created the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup exactly for that reason, to help the best young sailors build skills as a stepping stone to the top level of the sport. So do you think we’ll see some of these young athletes in the America’s Cup in 2021?

HPS: Definitely. It will be the same story as with the last edition in 2013: All the America’s Cup teams are watching the next generation, and the sport directors responsible for the sailing teams in the America’s Cup are already looking at taking sailors from this regatta.

RH: It’s been gratifying to have these young sailors take the time to thank us and tell us that they’ve been able to do things that they could never have done without the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup. We’re happy to think this has been good for their careers, and I’m certain these future stars are going to make a great impact on the sailing scene.

And maybe it’s too soon to say, but do you think there will be another Red Bull Youth America’s Cup in the future?

HPS: It’s not too soon, we are already thinking about boats! This is something we take very seriously. We are planning on developing the regatta for the future, seeing where we can make improvements. We are eager to get going for sure, and we are already having meetings with senior teams to get full support so that we will be ready for the next Red Bull Youth America’s Cup.

RH: We’re looking forward to it, and we aim to have even more nations involved next time.

America’s Cup 26.06.2017

26. Juni 2017/in America's Cup 2017, Regatta/von Dr. Irvin Krumnacker

THE FIGHTBACK STARTS HERE

Day three of the America’s Cup Match, presented by Louis Vuitton, was full of drama, incident and history-making action, but the big story of the day is the fightback ORACLE TEAM USA staged against their rivals for the Auld Mug, Emirates Team New Zealand.

The US Defenders of the America’s Cup found themselves 3-0 down to their Kiwi rivals after the first four races of the final stage of the 35th America’s Cup. However, from the start of race five, the first race of day three of the America’s Cup Match, presented by Louis Vuitton, it was clear that ORACLE TEAM USA had found significant boat speed since the two teams last raced on Sunday 18th June.

Race five went to Emirates Team New Zealand, who took full advantage of mistakes made on the US boat to put themselves 4-0 up, but in race six the tables finally turned, ORACLE TEAM USA winning their first race of the America’s Cup Match, presented by Louis Vuitton. With that victory, Skipper Jimmy Spithill made more history, tying Sir Russell Coutts’ winning record in America’s Cup Match races, recording his 14th victory, the same as Coutts.

That win means that the 35th America’s Cup will continue into Monday 26th June as neither team can reach the seven points needed to win the 35th America’s Cup in the two races scheduled on Sunday 24th June.

However, the win also signifies that the clear advantage Emirates Team New Zealand had over their US rivals in the opening weekend of the America’s Cup Match, presented by Louis Vuitton, has gone, and that means even more compelling racing is guaranteed in the remaining head-to-heads between the two teams fighting for the oldest trophy in international sport.

The battle on the water also carried on into the press conference after the action concluded on the Great Sound with the rivals looking back at the two races on day three, and the week they’ve both had to prepare for the resumption of hostilities on Saturday 24th June.

“We felt like we gave away that last race a bit, but it is great to see a little fight out of these boys,” remarked Burling, on ORACLE TEAM USA’s revival, to which Jimmy Spithill replied, „It is only just beginning mate.“

Reflecting further on his team’s vast improvement and the importance of ORACLE TEAM USA cutting the overall deficit to Emirates Team New Zealand, Spithill added, “We all saw that the boat is faster, obviously we are not sailing as well as we should do, but the important thing is that the boat is faster.

“We’ll be going straight back out on the water today to work on a few things. That’s a good position to be in, knowing there is more on the table and that the changes are working, the boat is getting quicker.

“It was five very long days but the good thing is we’ve been able to reward the entire shore crew with a win. We now have confidence in the tool we have, which is the most important thing.

“It does remind me of San Francisco when, once the guys can see that the boat is faster, then you start building some momentum.

“Getting that first victory was important today but I believe there is more speed in the tank.

“The boat is clearly faster because of the changes and it showed in the second race that if we as athletes can do a good job then the boat responds.

“We know we can do much better, but all in all we are just happy with the performance of the boat, to be able to get that race win, and to know that the boat is faster.”

In reply, Peter Burling acknowledged the new greater threat from ORACLE TEAM USA but remained confident in Emirates Team New Zealand being able to hold their advantage.

“We knew to expect a battle and now it appears we have got one,” remarked Burling.

“We felt they were a little rusty last weekend but we are under no illusions. When we entered this we knew we were in for one hell of a battle. It was nice to get those first wins and take a lead.

“We came out of a good battle today and managed to take another win but we feel we have plenty more to come.

“We didn’t sail particularly well today but it was great to walk away with another win. We’re really happy with the lead we have got and we’ll come back stronger, expecting a really great battle in the coming races.

“It’s no secret that when you look at our team, we are all very young and the advantage that gives us is that we are all pretty open and learn fast. We have an incredibly talented group of guys and we’re excited to get back out there and race again tomorrow.”

America’s Cup Match, presented by Louis Vuitton

Race Five

After five days away from racing Jimmy Spithill’s ORACLE TEAM USA’s fightback against Emirates Team New Zealand started in the worst possible style in Race Five, the team being handed a penalty for crossing the start line too early, allowing Peter Burling’s Emirates Team New Zealand to sail into a clear lead.

“All of our onboard gear had us behind the line at the start but it was wrong,” bemoaned Spithill of the early penalty. “We both rely on pretty sophisticated software at times and in these boats you get one knot of difference and it changes everything.”

However, despite the setback, the American team responded spectacularly, closing the gap completely rounding the second gate before taking the lead in the first pass of the America’s Cup Match, presented by Louis Vuitton, on leg 3/7.

However, just as they had taken the lead, ORACLE TEAM USA were punished once again as the boats crossed for a second time on leg 3/7. Both teams appealed against the other but it was Jimmy Spithill who was penalised, his team having to fall two boat lengths behind his rival, effectively handing them the race victory.

To add insult to injury, the Defender’s pursuit of Emirates Team New Zealand was hampered even further as a poorly executed manoeuvre then saw them lose all momentum, allowing the Kiwis to sail well clear on leg 4/7.

The Kiwi team’s advantage stood at just over a minute at the fifth gate and by the time they crossed the finish line Emirates Team New Zealand were two minutes and four seconds ahead of their rivals, putting them 4-0 up at the end of race five.

Race Six

With the pressure mounting on Jimmy Spithill and ORACLE TEAM USA, they finally halted Emirates Team New Zealand’s charge, securing a timely and vital 11 second victory over the Kiwis in the sixth race of the America’s Cup Match, presented by Louis Vuitton, to cut the deficit to 4-1.

In contrast to the first race of the day, both teams crossed the start line cleanly, with ORACLE TEAM USA beating Emirates Team New Zealand to mark one for the very first time in the America’s Cup Match, presented by Louis Vuitton.

The lead then changed hands twice on leg two but it was Jimmy Spithill’s team which held a slender 12 second advantage at the third gate.

At gate four Spithill took a gamble, jibing in the run up to the next gate, but it proved to be an error and Burling took the shorter course to the gate to edge ahead of his rival.

However, ORACLE TEAM USA’s new-found speed paid dividends on leg 5/7 as they cut the gap to their rivals and engaged in close-quarter racing. Two passes then ensued between the two teams, with Spithill coming out on top, nudging ahead at the fifth gate.

Having eradicated the mistakes that had held back ORACLE TEAM USA in race five, Spithill kept his rival at bay in the run up to the finish line and sealed an 11-second win which, vitally, keeps ORACLE TEAM USA firmly in the America’s Cup Match, presented by Louis Vuitton.

“We had a couple of good leads but some bad manoeuvres allowed them to catch us up,” conceded Peter Burling on defeat in race six. “We made a couple of mistakes and we lost some metres, however, full credit to them, they sailed better than us in that race.”

Race Results

Race Five: Emirates Team New Zealand beat ORACLE TEAM USA by 2 minutes and 4 seconds

Race Six: ORACLE TEAM USA beat Emirates Team New Zealand
by 11 seconds

Overall Standings

Emirates Team New Zealand 4*
ORACLE TEAM USA 1

* Emirates Team New Zealand started the America’s Cup Match, presented by Louis Vuitton -1 due to ORACLE TEAM USA’s win in the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers

America’s Cup 26.06.2017

26. Juni 2017/in America's Cup 2017, Regatta/von Dr. Irvin Krumnacker

BURLING AND EMIRATES TEAM NEW ZEALAND ON MATCH POINT

It is now Match point Emirates Team New Zealand.

Day four of the America’s Cup Match, presented by Louis Vuitton, belonged firmly to Peter Burling and the New Zealand team who comfortably won the two scheduled races of the day, races seven and eight of the final stage of the 35th America’s Cup.

Having won race six on Saturday, ORACLE TEAM USA went into the second Sunday of the America’s Cup Match, presented by Louis Vuitton, looking to gain more ground on their Kiwi rivals, but the New Zealand juggernaut had found its pace again and was unbeatable in similar weather conditions to day three, Saturday 24th June.

The America’s Cup Match, presented by Louis Vuitton leaderboard now stands at 6-1 to Emirates Team New Zealand who need only one more race to take the ‘Auld Mug’ back to their home country.

“We were absolutely delighted with how the day went,” said Peter Burling after claiming back-to-back victories to take his team to the verge of their first America’s Cup success since 2000. “We were disappointed to give away a race yesterday but we certainly made up for it today.

“We’ve got a fantastic team and you can see that out on the water. We’ve all got the same understanding of what we want to achieve and we are all on the same page.

“Despite the lead we won’t get ahead of ourselves because we still know we have a job to do and it’s still an incredibly tough ask.

“A lot has been said about what happened four years ago but I love the pressure. If you want to come all the way to Bermuda and win the America’s Cup then you have to deal with immense pressure. As a group we feel the pressure is bringing the best out of us and I think we’ve more than answered those questions.”

For ORACLE TEAM USA, this is familiar ground, and nobody would write off the Defenders who so memorably staged one of, if not the, greatest comebacks in sport when they pulled back from an 8-1 deficit to win the 2013 America’s Cup 9-8 against the same rivals.

“They [Emirates Team New Zealand] sailed better than us today and made a lot fewer mistakes,” conceded Jimmy Spithill on what was a disappointing day for ORACLE TEAM USA.

“They deserved to win both of the races because we clearly made far too many mistakes out there. We’re in a tough situation now and all we can really do is take this one race at a time.

“The plan certainly wasn’t to be in this position again, I can assure you of that, but we are here now so it is up to all of us to respond and react.

“You wouldn’t have been surprised to see a bit of a bad reaction out there today but the boys kept fighting and that’s great. Potentially, in a situation like this you could see a team split apart, but when we got ashore everyone pulled together because we know this isn’t over.

“I still think we can win races with this boat. We’ve proven we can races against these guys if we sail well but if we make too many mistakes like we did today then we won’t win races.”

Having made changes to their boat since the opening weekend of the America’s Cup Match, presented by Louis Vuitton, Jimmy Spithill was asked if there might also be changes to personnel on the ORACLE TEAM USA boat ahead of day five, to which he replied, “Anything is on the table. Every single team member in ORACLE TEAM USA will do whatever they can to help the team win.

“That includes me. If the team feel they have a better chance of winning with me on the wheel, I’ll be on the wheel, if we feel we have a better chance with me off the wheel, no problem. Our attitude has always been you put the team before yourself.

“Once again we will go away and review everything and tomorrow we will put out the boat, the configuration and the team we feel will give us the best possible chance to win some races.

“We don’t need to think too much about the end result, all we need to focus on is winning one race, and one race at a time. We have to learn from our mistakes and come out fighting stronger tomorrow, that’s it, that’s all we will be thinking about.”

Racing is scheduled to resume at 2.00pm on Monday 26th June with races nine and ten in the America’s Cup Match, presented by Louis Vuitton, taking place on Bermuda’s Great Sound.

America’s Cup Match, presented by Louis Vuitton

Race Seven

It was a drag race over the startline in race seven as both teams made clean getaways, Emirates Team New Zealand just ahead as they rounded mark one. Spithill blinked first, making the turn before Burling and slowly inching closer to the Kiwis as they headed towards gate two. On leg three there was very little between the two teams but the Kiwis extended their advantage again as they headed upwind, giving themselves a 32 second lead as they headed into leg four.

Despite the growing gap, ORACLE TEAM USA did not give up, continuing to try and claw back the advantage the Kiwis were building, but it was largely to no avail. The New Zealanders put on a dominant display, extending their lead to 40 seconds by gate four and then slightly back to 35 seconds at the fifth gate.

On leg six it looked as if Emirates Team New Zealand would wrap up the victory cleanly, but a bad jibe gave ORACLE TEAM USA a glimmer of hope. Spithill and his crew did everything they could to stop the leaderboard ticking round to 5-1 to Emirates Team New Zealand, reducing the deficit to 13 seconds at the sixth gate, but they were unable to bridge the gap completely and that left the Kiwis celebrating victory in race seven.

Race Eight

The second of Sunday’s two races started with Emirates Team New Zealand putting clear air between them and ORACLE TEAM USA well before the startline after Spithill had failed to box in his rival, having to watch Burling accelerating into a 13 second lead before Spithill had even crossed the start.
“We thought we would be able to pull a manoeuvre off but clearly we couldn’t, it was a big mistake,” admitted Spithill on the poor pre-start. “That really handed it to Peter and these guys were in a pretty easy situation to hook us and that’s game over really.”

By gate two that lead was already up to 24 seconds and Spithill chose to split the course, a decision that appeared to pay dividends as the gap started to decrease, but a penalty on leg four as ORACLE TEAM USA sailed outside the boundary effectively ended their hopes in race eight.

Again, Emirates Team New Zealand continued to extend their lead, reaching 36 seconds ahead at mark four, sailing their America’s Cup Class (ACC) boat perfectly. This was in contrast to ORACLE TEAM USA whose minor issues kept increasing the difference between the two teams on the racetrack.

Finally, another dominant display by Burling and the New Zealand team culminated in a 30 second win in race eight over ORACLE TEAM USA, putting them on the brink of winning the 35th America’s Cup.

Race Results

Race Seven:

Emirates Team New Zealand bt ORACLE TEAM USA by 12 seconds

Race Eight:

Emirates Team New Zealand bt ORACLE TEAM USA by 30 seconds

Overall Standings

Emirates Team New Zealand 6*
ORACLE TEAM USA 1

* Emirates Team New Zealand started the America’s Cup Match, presented by Louis Vuitton -1 due to ORACLE TEAM USA’s win in the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers