Team New Zealand has moved to match point in the America’s Cup after picking up a third-straight win over Luna Rossa in Auckland this afternoon thanks to a decisive fifth leg.
The Kiwi sailors carried on their winning ways from yesterday’s 2-0 performance with another thrilling win on the Waitematā Harbour.
Racing was delayed by 30 minutes to kick things off this afternoon after organisers warned this morning they expected the wind to take some time to arrive at the fan-friendly Course C.
When things got away at 4:45pm though, spectators were in for a treat.
Despite plenty of action in the pre-start, neither side took a clear advantage off the line although Team NZ held a slim lead heading to the first boundary.
It's another thrilling day of racing between Luna Rossa and the Kiwis.
The boats remained neck-and-neck after the first tack but Luna Rossa slowly began to build a lead, forcing the Kiwis to change course which resulted in a short touchdown in the water.
Despite the setback though, the Italians only carved out a one second lead at the first gate with the boats splitting and headed to opposite sides of the course.
Team NZ appeared to pick the better side though, getting a large surge of wind pressure which they translated into speed and a lead change midway through the second leg.
The lead was short-lived though as Luna Rossa sailed into the left side of the course and picked up the wind pressure the Kiwis had enjoyed.
Luna Rossa chose to split with the Kiwis and it cost them the race.
As the boats crossed each other again, Jimmy Spithill showed his renowned aggression and Luna Rossa gybed in front of Team NZ and forced the Kiwis to go wide on the entry of the second gate, resulting in the Italians pushing their lead to eight seconds.
On the second upwind leg, the Kiwis managed to claw back some of Luna Rossa’s lead but defensive manoeuvres from Spithill nullified their efforts and the Italians added another second to their advantage at the third gate.
Spithill continued his defensive tactics through the fourth leg, blocking any advances from the Kiwis and forcing them into dirty air, however the moves cost him some of his lead as Team NZ reduced the deficit to three seconds.
On the fifth leg, Luna Rossa opted to hold the left side of the course as they defended their lead – the decision proved to be the wrong one.
The Kiwis happily headed back to the right side of the course after detecting strong winds and they found it, giving Peter Burling and the Kiwis a big surge and the lead late in the leg to the effect of 200m.
Team NZ sped through the fifth gate for home with an 18 second advantage and immediately went back to the side of Course C that gave them their lead.
From there, the Italians could only watch as for a third straight race Team NZ pulled off a comeback win, this time by 30 seconds.
The second race for today is scheduled for 5:45pm.
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