Team NZ pass halfway mark with fourth win in a row

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Author: Christopher Reive,
Publish Date: Tue, 15 Oct 2024, 7:05am

By Christopher Reive in Barcelona

Team New Zealand have rounded the halfway mark in their defence of the America’s Cup.

With just one race on the schedule this morning, Team NZ claimed a 23s win over Ineos Britannia to take a 4-0 lead in the first-to-seven series. Boat speed told the tale, with Team NZ having a faster average speed both upwind and downwind in the race.

It was another arm-wrestle, but again the Kiwis made the right moves to get the better of their British counterparts with the sea state the smoothest it has been through the Cup match so far.

After a dramatic moment in the pre-start yesterday, things were a lot different in that area this morning as the teams chose not to engage one another. Team NZ got deep in the starting box and timed their run-up to the line while Ineos Britannia went out to the right and made their approach from the side.

It was the Brits’ best start of the match so far, and they got the early advantage over the Kiwis. Both teams hit the line well, but Ineos Britannia had slightly better boat speed.

“We ended up later than we thought but we did a good job getting a little trigger pull and just getting enough off that first boundary to keep in the race,” Team NZ starboard helmsman Peter Burling said of the start of the race.

Emirates Team New Zealand have taken a 4-0 lead in the America's Cup match. Photo / Ian Roman, America's Cup

Team NZ coach Ray Davies noted that there was a little bit of concern after the first beat as Ineos Britannia took the early lead but was full of praise for how his team responded to take a slight edge at the first gate.

In a similar contest to race two in the series, the teams duelled for position through the first two legs, but after gaining a small advantage after the first downwind, Team NZ shot clear on the second upwind – extending their lead by 10s on the leg.

From there, they put their foot down and controlled the course, smothering the Brits with dirty air whenever they could and sailing a clean race to maintain their lead and extend their advantage on the scoreboard.

With a reserve day on the schedule tomorrow, Ineos Britannia starboard helmsman Sir Ben Ainslie said it would be a good opportunity for his team to assess where they might be able to gain on the Kiwis ahead of the next race.

“It’s a good opportunity to take a day ashore and figure out how we can find some gains,” Ainslie said.

“Clearly, they’re going really well. I think we have our moments, but still there are moments where we are losing a click and that’s really the difference.

“We’re going to keep going; we’ll push all the way here. They’ve obviously had a strong start, but we can still come back from this.”