Team NZ look strong; Brits, US absent
Team New Zealand again looked impressive as the British and American challengers were absent when the second round of official America’s Cup practice was held in Auckland yesterday.
Team New Zealand put on a show of strength as they were left to battle against challenger of record Luna Rossa in a late afternoon session delayed by strong winds.
Doing practice starts under the eye of regatta officials once again, Team New Zealand controlled the opening exchange. In the second ‘‘race’’ they were in complete control against the Italians and in their third duel, used a burst of startling speed to overhaul them.
The practice session was again held in the Course E zone off the Bucklands Beach area. The absence of the other challengers was a disappointment and a particular blow to Sir Ben Ainslie’s INEOS Team UK.
It leaves them without any boat-on-boat action this week after failing to start the first practice session last Tuesday when they suffered damage in the lead-up. That is thought to be an issue with their mast, which forced them to return to their base in a painfully slow tow.
While American Magic made a strong start to that initial session, they experienced some late issues, with speculation centred on their rudder area.
Both syndicates had their shed doors shut yesterday with shore crews working overtime on repairs. Their next target is official practice races today, but they could be doubtful for that.
There are other practice races set down for Monday and Tuesday ahead of the start of the world series and Christmas Cup regatta on December 17-20.
They will be desperate to get their issues sorted out with such limited opportunities to line these boats up against each other after earlier regattas in Italy and Britain were cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The opening practice session showed how the crews need to sharpen their game for racing action as they went through their starting routines against another boat for the first time.