Saturday Results, Flight 10 and 11

Larry Ellison's BMW Oracle Team wins RR1.
  Photo: ©2007 Gilles Martin-Raget

Seeing Red:  A fast-looking Emirates Team New Zealand none the less lost to BMW Oracle in the most anticipated match of RR1, dropping to 3rd in the standings behind Luna Rossa. Photo: ©2007 Chris Cameron/ETNZ

Saturday News

BMW Oracle wins RR1, loses one race
See results at right.

Quotes of the Day:
Chris Dickson, Skipper, BMW Oracle Racing: “It was a very shifty day out there today. We saw fortunes come and go very quickly in a number of races. In our race against Desafío they did a very nice job of getting in front and staying in front. We kept looking for an opportunity and didn’t get one. Desafío had a very well-deserved win.”

Karol Jablonski, Helmsman, Desafío Español 2007, after beating BMW Oracle: “We feel that we have achieved something that we have been dreaming of. It is what we have worked hard for, for more than two years."

Pierre Mas, Skipper, China Team, on repairs to Longtze: "We will be ready tomorrow." 
More Quotes at ACM

  Peter Lester pegs NZL-92 as a fast and maneuverable light air design, optimized for downwind sailing.  Apparently BMW Oracle sees that too.  Lester reports elsewhere in his blog that USA-98 was re-measured after modifications aimed at downwind speed improvements.

Highly Recommended:  Don't miss great stuff from Kimball Livingston at Got Live, blogging for Sail Magazine.

Also see thought-provoking comments as usual from Bob Fisher at Sail World about Tails and Dogs.  Who is wagging who?

Areva's Request for Redress regarding the umpires action Friday that resulted in Shosholoza winning their match (see details in Friday Results, below) was denied.  Read more at ACM.

Results:

BMW Oracle trailed ETNZ early, but prevailed on downwind speed and good course decisions.

BMW Oracle fell to Desafío in Flight 10 but keeps first place in the RR standings.  Luna Rossa into second place, ETNZ third, Desafío edges into fourth.

View Final RR1 Standings

Flight 10 Complete:
ETNZ beats Victory by 1:42, Luna Rossa beats MLCT by 0:48 despite trailing early, Desafío Español beats BMW Oracle.  BMW Oracle flying a protest flag.  Desafío's win sets up a huge ETNZ vs. BMWO match to follow, with first place at stake, and moves Desafío into a third place tie with Luna Rossa, their Flight 11 opponent. 

A lot can happen here.  ETNZ could take 1st, LR could take 2nd, Desafío could move into 3rd alone, Victory could tie MLCT for 5th.  We should see some great stuff.

Buckle your seat belts, Flight 11 ready for take-off !

Flight 11 Complete:
 Victory beats Mascalzone in a very close race.  LR beats Desafío by 36 seconds.    BMWO and ETNZ in a classic duel. 3s to ETNZ at mark 1, 24s to BMWO at mark 2 and 43s to BMWO at the third, finish coming up.  BMWO wins it!

Saturday Outlook:
Weather:  Most forecasts presently have it dropping to 2-6 knots midday or earlier, cool with light rain and clouds.  RepCast: 6-9 knots at race time coming from ENE and shifting to NE mid-afternoon about 15:20.  Pin end?  Left-hand favored?

Match of the Round Robin: Marquee Match-up starring BMW Oracle and Emirates Team New Zealand in the last race of Round Robin 1.  ETNZ leads their past meetings 5-3.  This edition features the best two challenger records in the Cup, head-to-head in their new boats with LVC points on the line.  Grab your popcorn and enjoy!  Nobody will be paying more attention than Alinghi themselves.

BMW Oracle leads ETNZ in the RR1 standings 19 points to 18 with all bonus points applied after 10 Flights, but, standings aside, to Cup fans this race will be a key measure of these two big teams' prospects for becoming the 32nd Challenger for the America's Cup.  The marquee match-up may in reality be a sneak preview of the Louis Vuitton Cup final.

Double-Feature: Desafío pulled ahead of Mascalzone in the RR standings.  Today they each face tough opponents in both flights.  As a matter of fact, the top 6 teams all face only other top 6 teams today.  There will be plenty to watch!  Desafío gets tested by two of the big boys, Mascalzone by one.  Victory draws ETNZ and Mascalzone.  Nowhere to hide today.

Desafío is 1-4 lifetime against LR, but then they were 0-5 against BMWO until today. 

 LVA Match Race Record

Friday Results, Flights 10 and 11

Areva lost to Shosholoza on a crushing technicality while clearing their penalty at the finish in Flight 11.
Image ©ACM 2007/ Photo: Carlo Borlenghi

Win for Areva followed heartbreak for Areva.  First points for +39, wins in both flights, one of them a sail over against China (Did Not Start again).

 China Team is out until major damage is repaired:
 Read More

Friday Results:
Flights 10/11 partially complete:  Areva beats Germany, China DNS against +39.  +39 beats UITG.  Points scored for +39 in each race, their first of the LVC! 

A Stunning Twist in Flight 11:  Areva was leading Shosholoza, but carrying a penalty.  Areva took their penalty on the finish line, looking like a very close win for Areva, less than half a boat length!  But the RC waved Shosholoza's flag as the winner.  Report was Areva's rig was overhanging the mark during the penalty turn, meaning their turn was not entirely on the course side, doesn't shed the penalty, and Shosholoza wins it.  Update: Areva's Request for Redress regarding the umpires action Friday that resulted in Shosholoza winning their match was denied Saturday morning.

View RR1 Standings

Quotes of the Day:
Sébastien Col, Helmsman, Areva Challenge: “We haven’t fully understood why we didn’t win. It is our intention to protest the Race Committee’s decision. We are aware of the rule but want to study the television images and photographs. At this moment we feel that the decision is unfair, when we saw that it wasn’t our flag raised we were devastated.”

 Stéphane Kandler, Syndicate Head, Areva Challenge, on protesting their penalty: "If we have enough proof, and are convinced we didn’t make a mistake we will protest. It will be a decision for the Race Committee. I haven’t seen the images - we have plenty and it was well-televised. I can’t say until I have seen the images - I wasn’t on board and can’t say. Yesterday with Victory Challenge it was the same situation and today we did exactly the same as they did yesterday, and this is the reason we feel we finished our penalty before crossing the line and don’t agree with the Race Committee."  More quotes at ACM

Postponed and Cancelled Races: Flight 10 Matches 1 and 2 got going on the north course, but no others.  After several postponements, the RC's headed offshore to see if it there would be better conditions further out. At 17:30 it looked like it worked, racing got going on one course, Romeo, for the Flight 11 pairings: Matches 1 and 2.

RC Juliet races were cancelled for the day, both flights.

Friday Outlook:

Weather:  (RepCast): Chance of Racing still about 60% but late afternoon falls to about 40%. Previous forecast of squally rain showers after midday holds but wind forecast is now E 7-11 knots, but wind will die about 15:00 hours to 3-5 knots ENE.

Thursday Results, Flights 8 and 9

Luna Rossa and ETNZ a thrilling duel in Flight 9.
©ACM 2007 /Photo: Vicent Bosch

Desafío gets ahead of Mascalzone on the leaderboard, into the key #4 slot.  Lots of great racing.  Luna Rossa shows they can hang with anybody.

Results:
Flight 8 Complete: Desafío beats Germany, Victory beats Areva, ETNZ sail over against China Team (DNS), BMW Oracle beats +39, and Mascalzone beat Shosholoza, the South Africans closed up, but not enough.

Reports are that China Team has significant damage and may not be able to race for a few days at least: Luc Gellusseau, Operations Manager, China Team on keel problems: “We have a canting keel but its going in the wrong direction! We are going to make some repairs and test it and we think it will be finished on Saturday morning and try to be the sparring partner for Luna Rossa Challenge.”.

Flight 9 Complete:  Match 1, ESP-SWE underway, split tack start, Desafío gets the better of it, 38s at 2nd mark, Victory found wind and speed, but not enough to win it. 

Luna Rossa luffs ETNZ in the pre-start, penalty ETNZ, looks like a real duel unfolding, 10s lead for LR at the first windward but they wrap their chute in the set, ETNZ gains a little but not for long, LR stays ahead 26s at the gate.  ETNZ fights to the end, LR keeps holding them off and wins by 48 seconds.

BMW Oracle defeats Mascalzone and Shosholoza defeats +39.

View RR1 Standings

Quotes of the Day:
 Ken Venn, Mid bow, Team Shosholoza: "We had a fantastic race against Mascalzone, really close, a good ding-dong battle. Unfortunately we ripped two spinnakers because of the way our rig is set up: it has a few sharp edges that need to be softened tonight."

Marco Constant, Mainsail Trimmer Mascalzone Latino, on the first upwind leg against BMW Oracle: "We won the start and could choose the side we wanted. From that moment onwards we had a real tacking war and it got closer and closer. They got to us at the port lay line and we made a mistake and were penalized. We were able to see the technical differences between the two boats but they really did a magnificent job with their maneuvers." 
More Quotes at ACM

Thursday Outlook:
  Wind 3-5 knots NE early, but filling in mid-day from the NNE and veering E around 1340, heavy start line biases possible, rain cells at times. (RepCast).  Easterly 10-12 backing to NE and diminishing, chance of rain late (ACM).

Match of the day:  Emirates Team New Zealand versus Luna Rossa, Flight 9.  Along with BMW Oracle versus Mascalzone, these look tantalizingly like previews of the Semi-Finals given the latest RR Standings.  The top four teams race each other today and sparks should fly.

Emirates has defeated Luna Rossa in all 5 of their Louis Vuitton Act matches.  BMW Oracle is 4-1 against Mascalzone in the Louis Vuitton Acts.

Also of particular interest:  Victory versus Areva and Mascalzone versus Shosholoza, both in Flight 8, and Desafío and Victory in Flight 9.  The battle for slot #4 isn't half over yet, but today should have a big impact.  Desafío looked fast and nearly unshakable as the wind picked up yesterday, fake gybes and a man overboard didn't faze them.  Victory is quietly winning and has only lost to BMW Oracle and Luna Rossa, so this is their first test against the mids.  What have the Swedes got under their hood?

Pick to Click? +39 has been struggling to regain the promising form they showed in Act 13.  Wednesday's trim tab failure was only the latest in a series of curves thrown their way.  Will something good happen for them today?

Wednesday Results, Flights 6 and 7

Desafío Español hangs on to crew overboard.
Click to Enlarge  Photo: ©2007 Lyn Hines

Racing Complete:  Ties break up, Mascalzone gets into the vital #4 slot.  Desafío edges Shosholoza, slides into #5.

Flight 6 Results:
  DESAFIO beats CHINA - delta 2:01
ETNZ beats SHOSHO - delta 1:23
LR beats AREVA - delta 0:33
MLCT beats UITG - delta 0:24
VICTORY beats +39 - delta 0:55

Flight 7 Results:
BMWO beats AREVA - delta 2:54
LR beats +39 - delta 1:22
ETNZ beats UITG - delta 1:30
MLCT beats CHINA (DNF)
DESAFIO beats SHOSHO - delta 0:57

View RR1 Standings

BMW Oracle beats Areva, being careful to cover in slacking winds.  Split tack start for Luna Rossa/+39.  +39 gets the right, LR tacks to cover.  LR outmaneuvers at the first mark, takes the lead, wins the match.  ETNZ beats UITG.  China over early, Mascalzone ahead.  Gear problems for China, too, they retire.  Desafío and Shosholoza very very close so far, RSA 6s at first windward, but ESP gains on a better set.  Despite Desafío man over board, it's close for a while, but 35s delta for ESP at the second windward mark. 
Tack by Tack

View the Full Round Robin Page with Day-by-day and links to more

Quotes of the Day:

Santiago López-Vázquez, Strategist, Desafío Español 2007, on the race with Shosholoza: "They won the right side at the start and that’s when you just can’t afford to make any mistakes. The upwind leg was better for them and we were neck and neck at the mark, but our maneuvering was better. We are really happy with the boat in all kinds of conditions, and if we lose any matches, it won’t be on boat speed."

Michele Cannoni, Runner, Luna Rossa Challenge: "Yesterday proved that there are no easy races. De Angelis didn’t give us a particular speech just to keep our concentration up. We are feeling motivated for our match tomorrow against the Kiwis." More Quotes

Outlook and Pairings:

Forecast: ACM says: light Easterly 4-6 knots veering SE late afternoon 6-8 knots, high clouds late may shut things down.  RepCast:  Wind filling in from SE after midday, 6-8 knots initially, growing to 9-12 knots as temps rise.  Boat end favored, take the right.

Match of the Day: Desafío Español versus Shosholoza in Flight 7.  The South Africans are tied for the important 4th slot in the RR standings and have the Spanish team 1 point down.  After leading BMW Oracle and beating Luna Rossa, Shosholoza is wowing the crowds.  Desafío bounced back against MLCT to stay in the fight for the semi-finals.  A win here is huge whoever gets it.  Desafío and Shosholoza's head-to-head record in the Louis Vuitton Acts is 6-2 for ESP.

Also: Victory, another team tied for 4th, needs a win against +39 to keep pace.  Victory has a bye in Flight 7, Mascalzone faces China and if the Italians win they will pull out of the tie.  For their part, +39 has been struggling in the wake of their mast debacle, and faces two more races that won't be easy. 

The task is even tougher for Areva, who looked promising in their win over Desafío Español.  After losing to ETNZ yesterday, they face the other two-thirds of the "Big 3" today.  Areva has beaten both Alinghi and ETNZ in the past, but never today's opponents BMW Oracle or Luna Rossa.

Coming off of losses to Shosholoza and BMW Oracle yesterday, the biggest pressure today is on Luna Rossa to pick off Areva and +39 before things get worse

Big Time! South Africa's upset win over Prada thrilled the crowds, and even more so the crew.  Is Mr. Uphi smiling now?  ©ACM 2007 /Photo: Stefano Gattini
 

Seeing Double?  Luna Rossa and BMW Oracle neck and neck to the finish.  BMWO won by 6 seconds and remains unbeaten. 
Photo: ©2007 Gilles Martin-Raget

Mascalzone sizes up +39 in Flight 5.
Photo: ©2007 Mascalzone Latino Capitalia Team

Tuesday Results:

Flight 4 Results:  BIG win for Shosholoza, BIG defeat for Luna Rossa.  Desafío climbs back with a much needed win against MLCT. 

Flight 4:
UITG beats China - delta 4:01
Shosholoza beats Luna Rossa - delta 0:36
BMW Oracle beats Victory - delta 1:18
ETNZ beats Areva - delta 1:55
Desafío beats MLCT - delta 0:39

Paolo Cian, Helmsman, Team Shosholoza: “The team deserved this kind of result…it’s been really tough for us to lead for three-quarters of a race and then lose the match from a couple of small mistakes. Today, we led from the beginning, we put a lot of pressure on the other team and we were calm and cool. The boat is competitive”.

 Ian Ainslie, Shosholoza Strategist, also said 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 teammates."

Nacho Postigo, Navigator, Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia Team: “I think we lost our chance in the pre-start - we came back to the line too early and it was the only really big mistake we made" 
More quotes at America'sCup.com

Flight 5 Results: BMW Oracle takes Luna Rossa in a nail-biter by 6 seconds.
Race Report at Tack by Tack

Flight 5:
Shosholoza beats China - delta 2:05
ETNZ beats Desafío - delta 1:12
VIictory beats UITG - delta 0:56
MLCT beats +39 - delta 1:12
BMW Oracle beats Luna Rossa - delta 0:06

ETNZ pulls ahead of Luna Rossa in Round Robin Rankings, BMW Oracle still leads all.  Mascalzone, Victory, and Shosholoza all tied for 4th.

I have sailed in a lot of regattas around the world, but I have never lost so many days before," said Ross Halcrow, the upwind sail trimmer in the BMW Oracle Racing crew.  Read Tim Jeffery's story at Sport Telegraph

Match of the Day 1:  Desafío Español versus Mascalzone Latino Capitalia Team in Flight 4.

Match of the Day 2: Flight 5, Luna Rossa meets BMW Oracle in the first "Big 3" meeting of the Louis Vuitton Cup.   Showtime for the big boys!

The two are 4-4 in the LV Acts, with Luna Rossa never losing once ahead.

Shosholoza leading BMW Oracle in Flight 3.

Shosholoza executes a "Tender Boat Drop" in Sunday's race against BMW Oracle, a spinnaker takedown technique unique to the America's Cup.  Photo: ©2007 Lyn Hines

Tender crew picks up Shosholoza's chute as the boats race on. Photo: ©2007 Gilles Martin-Raget
 

Sunday Racing, Flight 3

Racing Underway Sunday at 14:15h.  Flight 3 Complete. Flight 4 postponed for the day.  +39 had her repaired v5 mast stepped.

Flight 3 Results: Shosholoza lead BMW Oracle for a couple legs, but USA-98 found her way to the front on the second windward leg and held on to win by 47 seconds, the smallest margin of the day.  Do the big boys hear footsteps?  Also, a nice showing for Areva over Desafío Español serves notice that the dog fight for a semi-final spot will be fierce.  Even more interest now in Flight 4's MLCT-Desafío matchup.

LUNA ROSSA beats UITG - delta 0:50
VICTORY beats CHINA - delta 3:50
BMWO beats SHOSHO - delta 0:47
AREVA beats DESAFIO - delta 2:06
ETNZ beats +39 - delta 2:41

View Detailed Flight Results

View RR1 Standings

Match of the Day:  Desafío Español versus Mascalzone Latino Capitalia Team in Flight 4.

Both teams are sailing well so far in 2007 and are top contenders for breaking out of the middle tier and into the top four that will move on to the Semi-Finals.  Fresh from their defeat of ETNZ Friday, the Latin Rascals stand 3rd in the RR, with Desafío 4th.  Historically Desafío leads the Italians 7-0 head-to-head, but that record matters not at all in 2007.  Mascalzone looked very good in Act 13, placing well consistently and finishing 3rd overall, while Desafío was often near the front of the pack, whether on boatspeed or smart tactics, and managed a 1, 2, and 3 among their finishes, but a pair of penalties cost them badly.  This race should help establish a early favorite for the semi's.

Aside from that, the greatest individual expectations are on ETNZ and BMW Oracle.  Will they dominate the so-called middle tier teams they face today, or will it be a more competitive contest for them?  You can bet defender Alinghi will be watching closely.
 

Friday Racing Completed
View RR1 Standings

Flight 1 Results: Mascalzone Latino defeats ETNZ in a stunning opening to the Louis Vuitton Cup.  Mascalzone's wire-to-wire win over ETNZ showed how far the Italians have come from their (1-15) performance in 2003.

  MLCT beats ETNZ - delta 0:15
AREVA beats +39 - delta  1:09
BMWO beats UITG - delta 2:00
VICTORY beats SHOSHO - delta 0:35
LR beats CHINA - delta 2:07
Flight 1 Details

Flight 2 Results: Desafío beats +39 despite a penalty for ESP in the pre-start.

+39 beats DESAFIO - delta 2:45
MLCT beats AREVA - delta 1:41
SHOSHO beats UITG - delta 1:10
BMWO beats CHINA - delta 4:36
LR beats VICTORY - delta 1:07
Flight 2 Details

Quote of the Day: Vincenzo Onorato, President of Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia Team: "It was a good day, and above all, a valuable demonstration of the work done up to today.  Certainly, these first two results are exciting for us, but we take them with humility.  Jes Gram-Hansen gave us two great starts and the entire crew sailed perfectly in both matches today.  I am proud of my Rascals"
  More Quotes at ACM

Friday outlook:

Friday's Scheduled Races are Flight 1 and 2, originally scheduled for last Monday.  Hope per ACM met is for a sea breeze building to 8-10 kts.  Good news for +39 is that they have their new (repaired) version 5 mast up Saturday.

Match of the Day: Mascalzone Latino Capitalia Team versus Emirates Team New Zealand in Flight 1.  MLCT has made great strides since debuting in 2003, their boat looked fast during their 3rd place finish in Act 12 earlier this month, and their crew work has been smart and polished, but ETNZ is at the top of the AC class.  The Latin Rascals get their first real test of the Louis Vuitton Cup in this opening race, a great opportunity for them to show what they've got under the hood for 2007.  Mascalzone has never beaten ETNZ in LV Act match racing, going (0-5) head-to-head, never led ETNZ around a mark, and their closest finish delta was 0:32.  But that was then. 

Also of particular interest Monday:  Victory Challenge versus Luna Rossa in Flight 2.  Although Luna Rossa has been a solid "Big Four" team, the so-called middle tier competitors have been nipping at their heels.  How big is the gap, if there is one?  This race will be a good clue.

Round Robin 1, Take 2

The Challenger Commission has worked out possible responses to several scenarios dealing with the wholesale delay of racing taking place in what was to be Louis Vuitton Round Robin 1 in Valencia.  One likely plan is that with the originally delayed Flights 1 and 2 hoping to get off the line Friday, that the entire regatta resume in sequence to follow it.  Racing and reserve days through the end of RR2 would be reshuffled to complete the Rounds Robin on time.  A meeting now set for Saturday will attempt to settle the issue.  Racing will proceed with Flights 3 and 4 on the slate for Saturday.

Read more at the Challenger Commission

Comment: The challengers rightly appear eager to protect the schedule that surrounds the semi-finals and finals, both the racing/reserve sequences and the change/no-change periods, from encroachment by the Round Robins.  The four teams, whoever they are, in order to reach their potential will need time to test, tune, and prepare.  There's a lot of learning curve left to climb.  An exhausted challenger thrown into the ring with a tan, rested, and ready Alinghi is the nightmare scenario from the challenger perspective.

Weather Boats drift quietly
Photo: ©2007 Gilles Martin-Raget

Wind was light but not consistent enough for racing.  BMW Oracle makes pases by the Race Committee Thursday.  Photo: ©2007 Gilles Martin-Raget

While we wait: Something Fishy?

Thursday Outlook

Status: Racing Cancelled Thursday, optimism misplaced.  14:05h start didn't happen for the 4th day in a row, and winds were light, but unlike yesterday there was optimism on the course that a opening race might get off the starting line. 

Victory and Areva in Flight 8 might well be the biggest battle of Thursday, and key for each one in trying to claw their way out of the middle tier.  Areva's one win over Victory in their five head-to-head races was way back in Act 4, but the French team was campaigning vintage 2000 boats against the Swedes' 2003 pair.   What can the class of 2007 accomplish?

Other interesting matches look like Desafío versus Shosholoza (Flight 7) and Mascalzone versus Shosholoza (Flight 8).  Both of the South African's opponents are contenders to be the breakout team, but Shosholoza has improved mightily, too.  Boatspeed and crew work displayed in these matches will be illuminating on all sides.

Meanwhile, some observers think that the light winds are a boost for +39, not only in allowing them more time to finish repairs on their broken v5 mast, but also because the more flexible v4 mast they are relying on in the meantime may actually be better suited to the conditions once racing begins

Tuesday Racing

Racing Cancelled for Tuesday:  Start sequence was scheduled for 14:05h, still postponed as of 16:15h.  Winds very light and variable.  Flights 3 and 4 will be rescheduled.

See updated RR calendars

Conditions:  NE at about 9-13 knots veering to ENE just after midday, peaking just after 13:00 with a good 12-16 knots of breeze.  Skies clear with temperatures out on the water at about 19 degrees C for most of the day.  Breeze will tail off and become more variable later in the afternoon, dropping to dead calm by early evening.  Courtesy of Replicant Weather Service.  BMW Oracle says 6-10 knots at peak, light, and decreasing late afternoon.

View all LVC RR1 pairings
 

Monday: Round Robin 1 Day 1

Racing cancelled Monday: First Race start sequence was set for 14:20h but postponed, next try at 15:35h on course Romeo slipped also, still looking for solid breeze.  An official decision will be made by 17:00h, but the writing is on the wall....   Winds light, currently around 7 knots and shifty.  ACM says NNE 6-8 knots veering later in the afternoon to NE to East up to 10-12 knots.  Several sources expect this light pattern to hold for the first few days.

Flight 1 and 2 are scheduled to be made up Friday.