Peter Burling has pointed to a lack of match racing as a potential reason for Team New Zealand's costly errors in the second race of the America's Cup this afternoon.
The Team New Zealand helmsman led his side to a commanding victory in the first race of the 36th America's Cup today after a flawless start, but the defending champions were unable to back up their performance an hour later, allowing Luna Rossa to even the series one a piece at the end of the first day's racing in Auckland.
A poor tack in the pre-start and a number of other mistakes throughout the second race ultimately cost Team New Zealand, despite fighting back strongly in the second half of the race to nearly pip their Italian opponents at the line.
Peter Burling’s crew dominated the pre-start on their way to a big win in the opening race of the America’s Cup.
Despite the errors, Burling was unfazed after the race, believing his team were still shaking off some cobwebs having not raced since the Christmas Cup at the end of last year.
"We looked a little rusty," Burling said.
"It was great to get that first win under our belt. It felt like we did a really good job in that pre-start.
"In that second pre-start one mistake and obviously life gets pretty hard for the rest of the race.
"It felt like the boats were pretty even today. We made a few mistakes and [poor] tacks, you could say it was rust or just a mistake."
The teams have tomorrow off before racing resumes Friday, and Burling remained upbeat about his team's chances to defend the coveted trophy.
"One thing the America’s Cup always shows is that it’s the person who wins the last race that’s going to win it, so we’re pretty happy to get one on the board and move onto the weekend."
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