Louis Vuitton Cup Act 10 at Valencia - Day 5

F1 driver Nick Heidfeld (red shirt, BMW Sauber F1 Team) as 18th man aboard USA 87 during Louis Vuitton Act 10 © BMW ORACLE Racing / Gilles Martin-Raget

F1 driver Nick Heidfeld (left, BMW Sauber F1 Team) at the helm next to CEO and skipper Chris Dickson (right, BMW ORACLE Racing) during Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 10 © BMW ORACLE Racing / Gilles Martin-Raget

Areva Challenge gave Luna Rossa a run for their money on day five of the Louis Vuitton Cup Act 10 © Franck Socha

Alinghi knocks off BMW ORACLE Racing in Valencia

An important day of racing at the Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 10 saw the Defender, Alinghi, beat BMW ORACLE Racing with an impressive display of skill and speed. The victory opens the top of the leaderboard, with all to play for in the remaining two flights of racing. There is also a match remaining between +39 Challenge and BMW ORACLE Racing that must be made up, either on Tuesday or the reserve day, which is Wednesday.

It was a warm, sunny day on the waters off Valencia, and after a short postponement which let the wind settle, two full flights of racing were conducted in front of a sizeable spectator fleet for a Monday afternoon.

Special guests on the day included two Formula One drivers, who made the trip down to Valencia following the Spanish Grand Prix over the weekend. Nick Heidfeld sailed as 18th man on BMW ORACLE Racing while Jarno Trulli sailed with Emirates Team New Zealand.

Flight Eight:

While there were no real upsets in Flight Eight, plenty of the smaller teams gave the big fish a worryingly close run for their money. On the north course, all the finish deltas were 21 seconds or less. Areva Challenge, sailing the six-year-old winning hull from the 2000 America's Cup, held the brand new ITA-86 of Luna Rossa to just 18 seconds by the finish.

After winning the start against Desafío Español 2007, United Internet Team Germany could not quite hang on but continued to give the Spanish a good race, losing by just 20 seconds. Team Shosholoza was very impressive against Alinghi, who always led but never looked comfortable, the Swiss Defenders winning by just 21 seconds.

Closest of the three matches on the south course was the tussle between +39 and Victory Challenge. In the pre-start Iain Percy and his crew kept the pressure on the Swedes and managed to gain the advantaged side of the start, albeit by a narrow margin. The Swedes pushed +39 hard all the way up the first windward leg and on the approach into the weather mark the Swedes had gained on their opponents. To protect their narrow lead Iain Percy luffed Swedish skipper Magnus Holmberg but the Swedes managed to slide through to take the lead.

The race remained close on the downwind leg but the pressure increased on the second windward leg with a serious tacking duel which saw the Swedes tear their headsail. Pressure remained on the downwind leg with +39 gaining distance, but the advantage was not enough and Victory Challenge won by just 15 seconds.

The match between Emirates Team New Zealand and Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia Team was close in the pre-start, close around the four laps but in the end the Kiwi team never looked seriously threatened and won their match by 32-seconds.

The only match where the winning margin exceeded one minute was between BMW ORACLE Racing and China Team. Having led from a start that saw the Chinese over the line as the gun went, Chris Dickson's team cruised away to a lead of almost a kilometre, the Chinese crossing the finish 4:38 later.

Flight Nine:

The big match in this flight was between BMW ORACLE Racing and the Defender, Alinghi. The Swiss were sailing SUI 75, the boat they used to dominate the opposition in 2005. The Americans had USA 87 as their weapon, a new boat that skipper Chris Dickson has called the most innovative America's Cup class yacht ever built. There was a near collision in the pre-start as the teams jostled for position and streaking off the starting line, Alinghi helmsman Ed Baird appeared to hold a slender advantage.

The boats sailed a very long starboard tack out to the left side of the race course only tacking once before rounding the mark. As such, it was an ideal opportunity to find out how the boats stacked up, and although Alinghi rounded the mark first, the boats appeared to be quite even. The lead was more by virtue of positioning and starting ability than pure boatspeed. For the rest of the race, Alinghi held its position by staying between its opponent and the next mark, resulting in an important win for the Swiss.

Elsewhere on the southern race course, Luna Rossa earned a straightforward point over Victory Challenge while Emirates Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker had a good start and extended the rest of the way to dispatch Desafío Español.

On the northern race course, the Italians on Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia made short work of Areva Challenge, earning a good win which lifts them clear of the French on the leaderboard. The South Africans outsailed +39 Challenge, and United Internet Team Germany left China Team still looking for its first win of the series.

Provisional Day 5 Results:

Leaderboard: