New Zealand extend lead over US in America’s Cup final

Kiwis win 5th straight vs Oracle

HAMILTON, Bermuda, June 24, (RTRS): Emirates Team New Zealand turned up the heat on America’s Cup holders Oracle Team USA on Saturday, taking a 4-0 lead in the firstto-seven final in the first race of the day.

After five days with no racing, both crews have been working to improve the performance of their space-age foiling catamarans, with the pressure on the US crew to match the superior speed shown by the Kiwis in their first races.

But despite the preparations, things started badly for the US team on Saturday as skipper Jimmy Spithill was a fraction of a second over the line at the start, picking up a penalty which left his crew chasing their opponents to the first mark.

Although the New Zealanders got away, the defending champions recovered well and fought their way back into the race, finding the speed which had evaded them in previous encounters.

At one stage comeback specialist Spithill managed to get a lead over his rival Peter Burling, but he was outduelled on Bermuda’s Great Sound and gave the advantage when the Oracle boat infringed the Kiwi “cat” and incurred another penalty.

The New Zealanders then streaked away and built a convincing lead to the finish, flying into the line on their space-age 50-foot catamaran in front of a packed grandstand in the purposebuilt America’s Cup Village.

Spithill, who was wearing a bandage on his wrist after injuring it during a hard week’s training, was upbeat about the team’s chances of getting back into the competition.