Was this Burling & Co. hack? New Zealand leads 5-3
The 36th American Cup enters the decisive stage by two points for New Zealand.
America’s Cup against New Zealand.
Getty Images
The defending champions made a breakthrough on Monday in a duel with rivals Italy after setting a well-balanced record so far. The crew surrounding rudder Peter Burling won my two races for the first time, leading 5-3. If seven wins are necessary, the decision can be made on Tuesday at Races 9 and 10 (4.15 AM / Servus TV).
After the New Zealand “T Rihautai” dominated the first encounter on the fifth day of the long distance race at a better speed and won it by 58 seconds, there were several changes to the lead for the first time in the eighth race. The New Zealanders ran into trouble in extremely light winds and struggled for minutes to take off their high-tech yacht, which was nearly on hold, while Italy withdrew.
Luna Rossa lost four and a half minutes
The race for Luna Rossa began when the Italians faced similar difficulties. New Zealand came back, passed and won. Italy had to watch how the 4:27 minute advance at the second turning point turned into a 3:55 minute deficit at the end.
“It was an exciting journey for both teams,” said Ken Reed, TV commentator and former captain of the America’s Cup. “Who would have thought that sailing the America’s Cup would be so strange.” Luna Rossa captain Jimmy Spethyl (Australia) was the usual fighter after races: “We can win races and that’s exactly what we want to do tomorrow.”