BMW ORACLE Racing and Alinghi in the second and final race of the Challenger Finals. Image copyright Gilles Martin-Raget/BMW ORACLE Racing.
by Jane Eagleson
The Challenger Final series of the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series was concluded in Auckland today, with Alinghi winning the decider against BMW ORACLE Racing and progressing to the event final against Emirates Team New Zealand.
BMW ORACLE Racing saw Alinghi increase its lead all the way around the track to clinch the best-of-three series in a brisk northerly breeze of 14 to 15 knots.
After congratulating the Alinghi crew on a well-sailed final, BMW ORACLE Racing skipper Russell Coutts said the team had lacked consistency. "We did not come here with grand expectations," he said. "We had some very good moments and some not so good moments. We made some critical errors at critical times.
"Going forward as a team, it is about eliminating those errors. It all comes down to having more time together as a team. Overall, we sailed pretty well through the series."
BMW ORACLE Racing completed the series with nine victories from 13 starts and progressed to the top three teams in the contest. Going into the final stage of the regatta, Coutts said he enjoyed the format of the regatta. The fact that all the teams were able to sail on very similar yachts supplied by BMW ORACLE Racing and Emirates Team New Zealand took out the design and boatspeed advantages that usually play a large part in America's Cup class racing.
"It is a great format for this style of event," he said. "It meant that any one of the 10 teams competing could win races. All the teams were competitive. All of them were capable of beating each other on any given day."
After six years away from racing in this class, Coutts said he was closer to finding form than he expected. "Three to four months of serious practice should see us back to the good consistency you need. Communication is one of the key things. Getting a good understanding of how and when to communicate important pieces of information to each other takes time and practice."
Intensely competitive on the water with no quarter asked or given, the atmosphere off the water was friendly and co-operative. Some of the racing was electrifying, with close action and tight finishes. Up to the end of the Challenger Final stage, two races finished with just 1 second between the yachts.
The regatta was intended to bring the America's Cup racing community back onto the water and it achieved that in spectacular fashion with two weeks of excellent racing in Auckland, described by BMW ORACLE Racing owner Larry Ellison as the sailing capital of the world.
BMW ORACLE Racing
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