Louis Vuitton Cup - Day 9

BMW ORACLE Racing beat Luna Rossa Challenge by just 6 seconds on day 9 of the Louis Vuitton Cup © Gilles Martin-Raget / BMW ORACLE Racing

Shosholoza surprises Luna Rossa, while BMW ORACLE Racing stays undefeated

Sea breeze conditions returned to Valencia on Tuesday allowing two full flights of races to be completed at the Louis Vuitton Cup. There was plenty of action on the race course where the South African Team Shosholoza earned an impressive victory over Luna Rossa Challenge. The Italian Luna Rossa team began the day undefeated, but eventually lost both races on the day, dropping their second match of the afternoon to BMW ORACLE Racing.

By the end of racing on Tuesday, it was the American boat that would be at the top of the table, undefeated in five matches.

As expected, the battle to be included in the top four challengers is fierce. Only the top four will qualify to advance to the Semi Finals and three teams currently occupy that spot, with Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia Team, Victory Challenge and Shosholoza all on 8 points from 3 Louis Vuitton Cup victories. The home team, Desafío Español 2007, sits one point further back.

Flight 4:

Team Shosholoza claimed the scalp of Luna Rossa in perhaps one of the most significant matches of Round Robin One. At the helm of the South African entry, Paolo Cian was able to edge ahead on the left of Luna Rossa off the starting line, and with the Italian team showing no speed advantage upwind, skipper James Spithill instigated a tacking duel. However the South Africans, showing considerable poise, lost nothing from this duel to lead around the weather mark. The South Africans showed the way down the run and made no mistakes in their crew manoeuvres. After a lengthy tacking duel up the second beat, the Shosholoza crew kept their cool and the Italian team were unable to do anything than follow the South African underdogs all the way to the finish.

The Shosholoza match upstaged what many assumed would be the fight of the day between Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia Team and Desafío Español, who are felt to be the most likely contenders for the all-important final place in the four team Semi Finals. After an aggressive pre-start between helmsmen Karol Jablonski on the Spanish boat and Jes Gram-Hansen, starting helmsman for the Italians, the Spanish controlled the start and the first beat, bouncing the Italian team beyond the starboard layline, pulling out a lead the Latin Rascals were unable to recover.

In other matches, Emirates Team New Zealand comfortably beat Areva Challenge, the Kiwis sailing safely and confidently, while Victory Challenge were unable to match the speed of BMW ORACLE Racing, and Jesper Bank's skill prevailed in United Internet Team Germany's against China Team, where one crewman fell over board and had to be picked up by a chase boat.

Flight 5:

The best match of Flight 5 took place between Luna Rossa Challenge and BMW ORACLE Racing. This was previewed as a battle between undefeated teams, but by the time this second match of the afternoon for both teams started, Luna Rossa had already fallen to Shosholoza. This was a close race all the way around and after an aggressive pre-start, both boats raced out to the left side of the course, with BMW ORACLE Racing in a more powerful position to the right. Skipper Chris Dickson converted tactically powerful advantage into an 8-second lead at the top mark. This tiny margin was only just extended to 15-seconds when the teams reached the top for the second time and Luna Rossa was able to attack on the final run to the finish. But in the event, Dickson held his nerve and the Americans remained undefeated by virtue of a 6-second victory.

The other matches in Flight 5 weren't as close, with +39 Challenge falling behind in the pre-start and Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia extending the rest of the race. Emirates Team New Zealand out-sailed the Spanish to win by 1:12, while Victory Challenge had more pace than United Internet Team Germany. And Shosholoza won its second victory of the day by beating China Team.

Flight 4:

Flight 5:

Louis Vuitton Cup - Round Robin One - Provisional Leaderboard:

Update from BMW Oracle:

BMW ORACLE Racing wins cliffhanger match

The opening round of the Louis Vuitton Cup was set alight today with a classic match race battle between two of the so-called Big Guns going all the way to the wire. BMW ORACLE Racing led the Italian Luna Rossa Challenge in a heart-stopping race all the way round the track to win by 6 seconds.

The victory over the powerful Italian team followed a more comfortable 1 minute 18 second win over the Swedish Victory Challenge team earlier in the day. Both wins left BMW ORACLE Racing alone at the top of the leaderboard, the only team undefeated as the first Round Robin reached its much-delayed halfway mark.

"That was one of the great America’s Cup boat races of all time,“ declared USA 98 navigator Peter Isler after the match against Luna Rossa Challenge. At no stage of the race were the yachts separated by more than 15 seconds. "That is how it is meant to be when two evenly matched teams meet in a classic match race,“ said Isler.

Race One summary: After an aggressive start by USA 98, the BMW ORACLE Racing team quickly established control and stretched away around the track against the Swedish Victory Challenge team. The mark rounding deltas grew from 48 seconds at the first mark to 1 minute 14 seconds at the second and 1 minute 22 seconds at the third. USA 98 crossed the finish line 1 minute 18 seconds in front.

Race Two summary: The fight went blow for blow all the way round the track with USA 98 coming off the startline with a slight advantage, holding the right hand side. USA 98 rounded the first windward mark with an 8 second advantage. At the second mark, it was just 9 seconds, as the two yachts rounded opposite sides of the leeward gate. At the third mark rounding, BMW ORACLE Racing was 15 seconds ahead and then came a major battle of nerves as the two yachts went gybe for gybe down the run. Again, the afterguard on USA 98 fiercely protected the starboard advantage and, after a 10-gybe leg, squeezed across the finish line just 6 seconds ahead of Luna Rossa Challenge.

Peter Isler quotes: "The first windward leg was an example of classic match racing. We came off the startline even, but we had the right hand side. Then we saw two even boats drag racing all the way to the port layline, with USA 98 holding position to windward of Luna Rossa. It felt great. They are a very strong team. They certainly held our attention all the way.

"The atmosphere on board USA 98 was calm and professional. We felt that everything had stepped up a notch from previous races. Our weather team did a great job and the crew on board were very smooth. We just wanted to do our job right.

"The difference in the end came down to winning the start.“

Gavin Brady, tactician, quotes "There was a lot going on at the back of the boat, that’s for sure. It was a team effort all the way. It was a slugfest all the way around the track. We needed to go out there and do our job and that is what we did.

"On the final run to the finish against Luna Rossa, we backed ourselves to defend our lead. It is sometimes hard to defend downwind in light winds, but we held on. The whole crew did a great job.“

Update from Emirates Team New Zealand:

The breeze picks up – and NZL 92 picks up two wins

The sea breeze returned to Valencia today and NZL 92 welcomed it with two good wins, against France and Spain.

The breeze may have returned but it was still light and it was still shifty but it was stable enough for some good racing.

Racing on the northern course, where NZL 92 was competing, started on time at 2.15pm local time. The breeze across the course was between 7 and 8 knots and at times nudged 9 knots. There was a short delay on the south course.

“It was a day to keep it close and tight,” Grant Dalton said. “We were up against two good boats and we were not going to give them any leverage in those conditions and leave ourselves open to a small shift doing us any damage.”

“The game plan was to cover, cover, cover and not let the separation get too great. The breeze was reasonably stable but there’s always a chance in the light that the leading boat can fall into a hole and the chasing boat sails around them.”

Dalton said the team sailed well in both races. “They kept cool when under fire in the pre-starts and tacks and gybes were superb.”

First up, NZL 92 faced off against Areva (FRA 93). Dean Barker and crew clinically set about taking the lead and building on it as the race progressed.

NZL 92 showed some good boat speed and crew work was flawless against an opponent that has showed some good pace in light airs.

With the breeze still light, and recent experience of suffering in adverse wind shifts still fresh in the memory, NZL 92 kept a tight cover on the French and then after taking the first cross and claiming the right, extended to the first mark, rounding 34sec ahead.

NZL 92 extended on the first run, maintaining a loose cover and in the process extended the lead at the first leeward mark to 50sec.

After the second beat, NZL 92 was starting to look more comfortable with a margin of 1.27 and at the finish the delta was 1.55.

In the second race of the day, skipper Dean Barker and tactician Terry Hutchinson wanted the right side of the course and they were prepared to fight to get it. And they.

And while the early advantage went to Spain NZL 92 was soon in command and did not relinquish their grip on the race. NZL 92 was ahead at the first cross and as ESP 97 threw 18 tacks in an attempt to break free. NZL 92 stayed cool and gained relentlessly as the beat progressed.

At the top mark NZL 92 had a solid 31sec advantage. A clean hoist and NZL 92 started to extend downwind and at the first leeward mark the margin was 46sec.

The second beat was almost a repeat of the first, although the separation was great. ESP 97 again threw tack after tack, NZL 92 stayed in phase and held a 47 sec advantage at the top mark.

At the finish NZL 92 was 1.12 ahead.

Update from Luna Rossa:

Luna Rossa looses twice

The fourth and fifth flight of the eliminatory Louis Vuitton Round Robin 1 took place today in Valencia.

In the first match Luna Rossa faced off against Team Shosholoza (RSA 83) Weather conditions on the course saw winds from the south south east at 7-9 knots, sunny skies and calm seas. After an initial postponement at the five minute gun Luna Rossa enters the pre-start box from starboard. James Spithill forces Paolo Cian into a dial-up that lasts over 2 minutes. ITA 94 cuts the line on the Committee Boat end to windward of the South Africans and a couple of meters later tacks, sailing towards the right hand side of the course. RSA 83 continues sailing in the opposite direction. A shift of the wind to the left favors the South Africans who pass into the lead and capitalize on their margin. At the end of a tacking duel Luna Rossa rounds the mark 17 seconds after RSA 83. Down the first run the mid-bowman Paolo Bassani is forced into performing acrobatics climbing toward the gennaker clew to replace a fouled sheet. Shosholoza maintains the lead for the rest of the race and despite Luna Rossa’s repeated attacks cuts the finishing line 36 seconds before ITA94.

The second match pitted Luna Rossa against BMW Oracle (USA 98). The wind has grown in strength to 10-11 knots and the direction is unchanged. Spithill enters from port and manages to shake off Dickson who takes control of the right hand side of the course and will maintain it for the rest of the race. ITA 94 and USA 98 sail head to head on starboard tack on a long beat towards the left with similar speeds. Close to the windward mark Luna Rossa sails beyond the port layline, and although BMW Oracle is behind by 10 meters, USA 98 can count on being inside overlapped at the mark. 8 seconds separate ITA 94 from USA 98. The distance dwindles even more down the first run with Spithill looking for overlap at every occasion. At the leeward gate 9 seconds separate the two boats. The Race Committee decides to move the top mark because of a wind shift to the right. A further oscillation favors USA 98 who at the end of the second beat has stretched out her lead to 15 seconds. Although Luna Rossa continues to make ground also thanks to lateral separation BMW Oracle wins the race by 6 seconds.

Anthony Romano Managing Director of Team Luna Rossa after having followed the races at sea stated: “We are satisfied anyhow. The boat is as fast as we hoped, the guys worked really well, there is nothing more to say.” Concerning the match against USA 98 he commented: “We wanted the left and got it. Oracle followed us and put us in a corner, that’s were we fell behind. We worked really hard to make up that small disadvantage but were never able to close in. It was a hard fought race till the bitter end and I am very proud of the boys.”

Update from Team Shosholoza:

Shosholoza claims scalp of Italian giant Luna Rossa

It was an incredible day for South Africa's Team Shosholoza in Valencia, Spain today. After three and a half years of gruelling racing and training Shosholoza finally pulled off the big one by slaying Italian giant Luna Rossa and then going on to take a second victory of the day off China team. The two magnificent wins have put Team Shosholoza fourth overall in a three way tie with the Italian Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia Team and Sweden's Victory Challenge after five flights of races in Round Robin 1 of the Louis Vuitton Cup.

Today's victory over Luna Rossa, a former Louis Vuitton Cup winner and the team that South Africa bought their first training boat from in March 2004, was greeted with roars and cheers at sea and on shore as phone calls, emails and text messages of congratulations poured in to the team's base in the Port America's Cup from both fans and opposition teams. The sailors were showered with champagne as they docked and smothered with hugs and kisses.

Of the crew of 17 on board Shosholoza today 13 are South Africans with no previous experience in the America's Cup as opposed to Luna Rossa who has a top drawer international crew with multiple AC experience and a stated budget of 90 million euros opposed to South Africa's 23. "At the team meeting this morning I said let's go out and win two races today. And for the first time we did just that. We have been waiting for this win for a week. Yacht designer Jason Ker, helmsman Paolo Cian, me, all of us. Against the Swedes and America's BMW ORACLE we had really bad luck. In both races we were in the wrong place at the wrong moment with the fluky wind shifts. If we had the good luck we had today we could be sitting with five wins already. Today we had the good luck. It was our race. We had steady 12 knots. We knew we were faster and we didn't give them any possibility of hauling us in", said an emotional Captain Salvatore Sarno.

Shosholoza strategist Ian Ainslie also said how he had cried for the first time in a yacht race. "I was calm the whole way until just before we crossed the finish line and then I just started crying - it was too big an emotional moment that I was sharing with my team mates."

The victory against Luna Rossa came in the fourth flight of match races held so far in the Louis Vuitton Cup. After surviving repeated attacks from the Italians in the pre-start dial up the South Africans were on the start line with Luna Rossa but were able to take advantage of the pressure on the left to pull out a 17 second lead at the first windward mark. They extended to 20 seconds in the run down to the leeward gate but then lost some six seconds to round the final windward mark just 14 seconds ahead. The final run to the finish was make or break and a huge release of tension when they crossed 36 seconds ahead to take a magnificent victory off the Italians. "What was amazing is that the crew held together under such enormous pressure. It's a great step in the right direction for us", said tactician Tommaso Chieffi.

It was also a sweet, sweet victory for the South Africans who had almost pulled off an another surprise defeat over BMW ORACLE on Sunday after leading for more than half of the match against the big budget internationally crewed American contenders.

Team Shosholoza won its second victory of the day by beating China Team from start to finish with a final delta of 2.05 minutes. Shosholoza has two tough races tomorrow (Wednesday) when they meet Emirates Team New Zealand and Spain's Desafio Espanol in Flights Six and Seven.