Theory of evolution intrigues TNZ rivals

American Magic skipper Terry Hutchinson has complimented Team New Zealand’s new boat and wondered about its evolution as they get set to test themselves against the America’s Cup defenders.

American Magic have been off the water this week getting their boat ‘‘race ready’’ with official practices, including some practice races, to be held under the eye of regatta director Iain Murray and his officials next week.

That leads into the world series and Christmas Cup regatta on December 17-20 with American Magic set to take on the Kiwis in the fourth race of the opening day.

Team New Zealand have only had their new boat Te Rehutai on the water for the past two weeks since its belated launch and the boat’s precision has been turning heads.

The performance of Te Rehutai hasn’t been lost on Hutchinson whose reconnaissance team have been keeping a close eye on the Team New Zealand training sessions. ‘‘It’s exactly what you would expect from the defender of the America’s Cup,’’ Hutchinson told Stuff.

‘‘They are a great team with a lot of really smart people. It’s very well thought out, very meticulous in its design . . . they’ve done nice work in prioritising the aerodynamics and the hydrodynamics.’’

American Magic and the other two challengers, Luna Rossa and INEOS Team UK, will keep a close and wary eye on Team New Zealand in January and February when the Kiwis have two months to develop and refine Te Rehutai while the Prada Cup challenger series plays out.

‘‘The evolution of that boat will be interesting to watch,’’ said Hutchinson, who was part of Team New Zealand’s 2007 challenge in Valencia.

‘‘We all get the opportunity to test against each other in another week or so. But after December 20 they [Team New Zealand] go into hibernation in regard to racing other teams and the challengers get to go out and beat up on each other. So that’s a hard spot for the defender to be in.’’