Match point to the Kiwis…
Larry Ellison must be wondering what went wrong… Or will Jimmy Spithill stage another phenomenal comeback..? © ACEA 2017/Photo – Sander van der Borch
Day four of the America’s Cup Match, presented by Louis Vuitton, belonged firmly to Peter Burling and the New Zealand team which won the two scheduled races of the day easily.
Having won race six on Saturday, ORACLE TEAM USA went into the second Sunday of the America’s Cup Match 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 now stands at 6-1 to Emirates Team New Zealand, which needs only one more race to take the ‘Auld Mug’ back to their home country.
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.
But those were the days where Oracle Team USA had its own secret in the shape of Sir Ben Ainslie who, it seems, proved the turning point in helping Oracle to overcome the Kiwis and take the cup in an unlikely turnaround.
Oracle Team USA has little of the magic of that turnaround squad. Jimmy Spithill made some strange unforced errors – like going over the boundary of the course. And like losde the pres-start dance; in one case by simply being over the line and having to take a penalty.
This Oracle team is nowhere as good as the last squad. And Mr Ellison must be spitting tintacks at theow easily his boys have given up the cup.
Racing is scheduled to resume at 2.00pm today with races nine and ten in the America’s Cup Match on Bermuda’s Great Sound.
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