AC72's start hitting their stride on Day 4.  Image:©2013 ACEA/Photo: Gilles Martin-Raget
 

Even in the new high-tech America’s Cup, but match racing prowess is still king; Race 4 of the Louis Vuitton Cup Finals was over almost before it began after Emirates Team New Zealand rolled over the top of Luna Rossa at the starting gun and never looked back.

At 13 knots, the pre-race breeze was among the lightest the teams have seen to date, lifting hopes for not only getting in two races in one day for the first time, but also for avoiding the breakages which marred the first three days of the challenger finals. 

The Italians fought hard, but a boundary penalty on Leg 3 only added to their deficit.  Extending the entire way, the Kiwis finished the first race of the day 2:17 ahead of Luna Rossa.

Chris Draper and Luna Rossa went for a more aggressive on the start of Race 2, attempting to chase down Dean Barker in the pre-start. Trying to roll above ETNZ to the first mark, the Italians were not able to pull out the extra speed to shut out the Kiwis and ended up the outside boat, forced to tuck in behind when they rounded.  ETNZ continued probing the upper reaches the AC72 abilities, hitting 43.8 knots of boat speed downwind on Leg 1 in just 13 knots of breeze.  But Luna Rossa was able to stay close enough on the leg to make two good foiling gybes count, as they split tacks and headed toward the more favored left side of the course.

For a while, the promised spectacle of two giant catamarans, and match racing in close proximity for a short tacking duel did play out, flirting with foiling upwind, too.  The Italians kept it close for a while, and Francesco Bruni's tactics demanded the best of ETNZ's tactician Ray Davies, and ultimately got it.  In the lighter conditions today ITA simply not could not match the speed of the Kiwis.  ETNZ took the second race of the day by a delta of 1:27.

Ray Davies Tactician, Emirates Team New Zealand

“It was great seeing two boats finishing two races -- it was San Francisco at its best today.  Good close racing there at times.  It was always going to be hard to keep the racing close but we saw glimpses of that today.  We’ve worked really hard on that first reach and the acceleration out of mark one on the first gybe – all the teams identify that as a real key part of the race.”

“We were very happy with the first race, but in the second race they sailed really well.  They basically had us at the start – they’ve really stepped up their game and it’s good, because we really need to be pushed.  They did a nice job down the run and made some good decisions to make it really hard for us.”

Max Sirena Skipper, Luna Rossa

“We started our campaign almost a year-and-a-half behind everyone and we are in the final.  We knew Team New Zealand was way more competitive than us – first, they have a two-boat program and second, we are in a first-generation boat.  It is not an excuse but I would be happy to sail with a second-generation boat, performance-wise.  The second boat is always better than the first.  I would be happy if we could move the Cup two or three months from now, we would be way more competitive.”

“We didn’t sail that well in the first race, but in the second race we pushed the boat pretty hard and put some pressure on them.  The big difference today is they were able to hold us in a difficult position in the pre-start.  They are doing a good job and there is something in the boat that is giving them the possibility to hold that position.  We are hoping that if we can get to the reaching mark first, we can be in front at the bottom gate.  We need to analyze the video and see if we can improve our speed on the first reaching leg.”

-- Diane Swintal for CupInfo/©2013 CupInfo.com
 

Emirates tries to kick into a higher gear, hoping to shake Luna Rossa.  The Italians couldn't sail over the Kiwis at the start, above, but it took a tacking duel and a battle of the tacticians to ultimately sort things out in Race 5.  Image:©2013 ACEA/Photo: Gilles Martin-Raget
 

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