Team New Zealand have lost a rollicking duel with America's Cup holders Team USA in the highlight of the opening day of the regatta in Bermuda.

In the first clash of the syndicates since the epic 2013 Cup Match in San Francisco, Team USA prevailed by a narrow six-second margin.

LIVE COMMENTARY: America's Cup - Day one of racing

Earlier, both teams crushed Team France by more than 2min in their opening races.

READ MORE: Team NZ, Oracle take early toll on Team France

Their tightly fought clash was a contrast, with the lead changing hands twice before Team USA made a decisive move at the end of the fifth leg.

Team USA skipper Jimmy Spithill squeezed the Kiwis out of a turn at the gate to reclaim the lead and power clear early in the sixth of seven legs.

They held on to notch a win, kindling memories of four years ago when they fought back from 8-1 down to beat Team NZ 9-8 and retain the Auld Mug.

After an even start, Team USA led narrowly through the first two legs before Team NZ took advantage of a wind shift to pull 20sec clear after legs three and four.

Both boats look fast enough to make it to the final stage of the six-boat regatta, with their AC50 catamarans foiling without a hitch in their opening races.

By contract, Team France lacked manoeuvrability and will be the favoured boat to drop out when the double round-robin qualifying series concludes next week.

Team NZ's start to the regatta was emphatic, with helmsman Peter Burling dominating the pre-start exchange and hurtling clear of the French, pulling further away on every leg.

Burling and his five crewmates kept the boat stable on its foils throughout most of the race, powered by their innovative approach of using bike pedals to grind the winches, rather than the traditional arm-power.

Team NZ join Britain's BAR syndicate, Team Sweden and Team Japan in winning one of two races.

The most spectacular moment came in the pre-start of Britain's 48sec loss to the Japan boat skipped by Kiwi Dean Barker.

British counterpart Ben Ainslie was too slow to tack away and the boats collided heavily, leaving noticeable damage to the hull of Ainslie's boat.