Oracle’s changes don’t frighten Team New Zealand
Veteran predicts Trouble on the water
Team New Zealand skipper Glenn Ashby has played down any major improvements Oracle can make as Jimmy Spithill and co returned to the water yesterday.
The Kiwis, with their pedalpowered grinding system and longer, kinked foils, have shown a clear speed advantage in the light winds to build a 3-0 lead in the battle for the America’s Cup.
And the defenders are up against the clock to bridge the gap in the six to 14 knot wind range before the next race in the best-ofseven series on Sunday.
After a day with the shore crew, Oracle’s AC50 catamaran was back out on Bermuda’s Great Sound running through its changes.
Team NZ will wait until today to return to training as they continue to make refinements to Aotearoa.
But that did not stop their chase boat from closely monitoring Oracle’s progress and Ashby did not see anything different that could give Oracle an edge.
He said any inroads they can make on Team NZ will likely come It’s Team New Zealand’s worst nightmare and America’s Cup veteran Bruno Trouble believes the only way Oracle can keep their hands on the Auld Mug is to force a collision.
With Oracle allowed two boats under the rules to Team New Zealand’s one, conspiracy theorists have suggested the Americans could deliberately sacrifice one of their catamarans in a bid to get ahead, which have only intensified since the Kiwis have taken a 3-0 lead in the series.
Oracle had to declare any new boat last month, which they did not, though it is impossible to imagine them not having a backup in case of damage. Team Japan have been Oracle’s sister syndicate throughout this Cup cycle, sharing a technology and development agreement.
The feeling is Oracle would use the Japanese boat as a replacement if needed, needing only to attach their American-made bows to pass the measurement test.
Following a late change to the rules, Team NZ would have 24 hours to get their boat back on the water in the hypothetical situation that Oracle were found guilty of damaging their boat.
But if the repairs took longer than that it is tough luck and with no more breaks in racing once the series resumes on Sunday, any crash could prove catastrophic.
Trouble, a three-time America’s Cup skipper and founder of the Louis Vuitton Cup, believes sportsmanship would ultimately stop Oracle from stooping so low. But, given Team NZ’S dominance so far, it may be their only option.
‘‘This time the boats are onedesign so they can’t do much except maybe have a big collision with Team New Zealand, which is a big fear,’’ the Frenchman told Newstalk ZB.
’’I don’t think they will do that because they are sportsmen but this is maybe the only thing they can do unless the conditions are very different.’’