America’s Cup: Kiwis win, advance to 34th America’s Cup

San Francisco, CA (August 25, 2013) – With two races scheduled today in the best of 13 Louis Vuitton Cup, Emirates Team New Zealand needed only one match to win the challenger finals 7-1 against Luna Rossa Challenge, eliminating the Italians from further competition.

Emirates Team New Zealand now advances to face defender Oracle Team USA in the best of 17 America’s Cup on September 7-23.

With a weather forecast today calling for winds 16 to 19 knots, confidence was high for racing with the flood time boosting wind limits to 23.1 knots for Race 8 and 22.6 knots for Race 9. But when the start came at 1310 PT, the conditions were unlike anything the event had yet to see.

In full fog and 12 knots at the start of race 8, the teams engaged in their most active pre-start sequence. However, the result was familiar, with the Kiwis to weather and ahead of the Italians, growing a 7 second edge at the start to 15 seconds at the first mark.

A result of the lighter winds, this was also the first race of the challenger series for the teams to use their Code 0 gennekers. But true to form, the Kiwis had a better sail with more sail area, delivering a notable advantage on the first downwind leg.

It was all on for the Kiwi team through the rest of the race, growing the delta to 3:20 minutes at the finish over the Italians. While now eliminated from the competition, rumors along the waterfront expect the Italians to continue sailing in support of the New Zealand team’s training program.

Click here for race blog.

Before racing begins for the 34th Match, the America’s Cup Village at Marina Green will host the inaugural Red Bull Youth America’s Cup on September 1-4. The fleet racing event features 10 national teams representing 8 countries, with sailors between 19 and 24 years of age competing on equally-match AC45 catamarans.

Racing for the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup is expected to be broadcast live on YouTube.com. Click here for America’s Cup broadcast information.