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Team New Zealand go 3-nil up on Oracle

Author
NZN,
Publish Date
Mon, 19 Jun 2017, 5:11AM
Peter Burling and Team New Zealand hold a 3-0 lead over Oracle (Sander van der Borch).
Peter Burling and Team New Zealand hold a 3-0 lead over Oracle (Sander van der Borch).

Team New Zealand go 3-nil up on Oracle

Author
NZN,
Publish Date
Mon, 19 Jun 2017, 5:11AM

Team New Zealand are storming towards victory at the America's Cup in Bermuda after crushing defenders Team USA in both races on Monday.

The Kiwi challengers are 3-0 ahead in the race to seven points, having dominated all four races of the Cup Match after starting one point behind.

In a familiar pattern, Team NZ gained control from the outset in races three and four and employed superior boat speed to simply sail clear of the hapless Americans.

A win by 49 seconds in race three was bettered by a winning margin of 1min 12sec in race four as the the boat helmed by Peter Burling charged to within four wins of lifting the Auld Mug.

However, a six-day break until race five and six on Sunday (NZT) will allow Team USA to make changes to a defence which is teetering.

They must find a solution to the superior upwind speed of Team NZ's catamaran and devise a way to rattle Burling, who has been flawless with his starts and decision-making so far, nullifying the threat of aggressive match-racing ability of Team USA's Australian skipper Jimmy Spithill.

Burling has barely engaged in the start box, keeping out of trouble and relying on boat speed to hand them an early advantage on the first two legs.

The light, shifting conditions have also suited the Kiwis, who have made the right choices on which foils to use on the ends of their daggerboards.

Team NZ suffered what appeared to be one minor mishap on Monday, when their boat sunk off their foils in the start box ahead of race four.

However, they quickly recovered and barely put a foot wrong for the rest of a dominant day.

During Race Four there was a moment of tension when it looked as though Team NZ might collide with Oracle.

 

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