America’s Cup: Kiwis win, lead Italians 5-1 in challenger finals

San Francisco, CA (August 23, 2013) – In the sixth race of the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger finals, Emirates Team New Zealand beat Luna Rossa Challenge by 1:56 minutes. In this lone race today, the winds averaged 14 knots.

After an even start, the Kiwis leveraged their position to windward and accelerated down and away, building a 10 second margin at the first mark. “The first leg was tight, and with the flood tide we wanted that position,” explained Kiwi skipper Dean Barker. “It allowed us a better angle off the start line.”

The Kiwi lead quickly grew to 300 meters on the downwind leg, steadily growing the delta throughout the five-leg race.  “We are not as fast in these moderate conditions,” admitted Luna Rossa Challenge helm Chris Draper. “There was little we could do to alter this result.”

There are two races scheduled for Saturday, August 24 in the best of 13 series. If the New Zealand team wins both races, they will have won the Louis Vuitton Cup and will advance to face defender Oracle Team USA in the 34th America’s Cup (Sept 7-23; best of 17).