Burling upsets Ellison with 4-1 lead
18/06/2017 – Bermuda (BDA) – 35th America’s Cup 2017 – 35th America’s Cup Match Presented by Louis Vuitton – Race Day 2 – Race Day 2 – Race Day 2
Just about all the images of the first weekend’s racing have ETNZ with the upper hand…
© ACEA/Photo: Ricardo Pinto
American sailors – and Larry Ellison – must be wondering how they could be 3 points down against Emirates Team New Zealand after the first weekend of the 35th America’s Cup. Not a good Father’s Day in the USA…
Mr Ellison should really be 4 points down, of course. But the peculiar points scoring in the America’s Cup mean Oracle Team USA gained a point for its win in the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers.
At the helmsman’s conference following the weekend’s racing, it was obvious Jimmy Spithill was astonished at the weekend’s outcome, leaving him having to come up with an answer to Mr Ellison as to how his team is obvilously slower than the New Zealanders.
Jimmy Spithill had been hoping he could could sieze back the advantage gained by Peter Burling’s Emirates Team New Zealand on day one. Unfortunately for him ETNZ blew Oracle Team USA away with two more back to back victories on the Sunday.
After racing had finished on day two, Jimmy Spithill was obviously thankful he and his team had a five day break before racing restarts on 24th June. Those days are going to be full of work for the Americans. As Spithill remarkedat the after racing press conference: “These are going to be the most important five days of this America’s Cup campaign for us.”
Spithaill went on the say: “I thought we took a good step forward from yesterday, but it is clear we have to find some speed from somewhere, that is no secret.
“If we were forced to race day after day we’d be in some serious trouble at the moment. This break coming up is a massive opportunity for us as a team to go away and regroup.
“Everything will be put out on the table, nothing will be off limits, and over the next five days our incredible shore team will be looking at every aspect of our boat.
“Nothing will escape our eyes, I can guarantee that. Whether it’s system related, appendage related, sailing technique or strategy, we are going to look at absolutely everything.”
