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Team NZ level America's Cup series after emphatic start to race six

March 13, 2021
Peter Lester and Phil Robertson will be calling the action as Team New Zealand defends the Auld Mug against Luna Rossa.

All the action from day three of the America's Cup, where the teams once again split the races, as it happened.

Full report: Team NZ strike back to level back-and-forth America's Cup series 3-3

Full report: Luna Rossa leave Team NZ in their wake to take 3-2 America's Cup lead

6:00pm: Despite the huge win, Team NZ skipper Blair Tuke said that there's still got a lot of work to do with scores still sitting in deadlock.

Luna Rossa skipper Jimmy Spithill says their poor start in race six can be attributed to hitting light wind. Spithill described it as a "bit of a reversal" from the first race of the day where Team NZ found themselves suffering from a bad start.

5:43pm: Team NZ speed over the finish line for the win! A huge contrast from their performance earlier today. Luna Rossa completely left in their wake. The Italians cross over the line 1:41 minutes behind.

5:40pm: No surprises at gate five. Team NZ extend the lead even more. Now 1:22 minutes and well over 1 km between the boats.

Peter Burling bounced back from a poor start in the race five defeat to Luna Rossa.

5:35pm: Team New Zealand continue to extend their lead, clearing gate four 1:13 minutes ahead of the Italians. 

5:30pm: Small gains for Luna Rossa at gate three, still far behind Te Rehutai with a 1:05 minute deficit. Team NZ 900 metres ahead of the Italians now.

5:25pm: 1:07 minutes ahead at gate two. The lead for Team New Zealand just continues to grow. 

5:20pm: Luna Rossa well behind at the first gate! 51 second lead for Team New Zealand. 

5:17pm : 400 metre lead already for Te Rehutai as they approach the halfway point of the first leg. 

5:15pm: The two boats enter the starting box and battle for position. This time Team NZ time their start to perfection and are tearing away up the first leg! Huge lead over Luna Rossa already.

5:00pm: Race two is scheduled to kickoff at 5:15pm. The starts are proving to be crucial. Team NZ really suffered from that atrocious start. Looks like the wind has picked up a few knots which could play into the hands of the Kiwis. It will be the starboard side entry for Team NZ this time around.

4:44pm: Luna Rossa cruise over the finish line with an 18 second lead. Plenty of pressure now on Team NZ as we go to the second race of the day.

4:36pm: 23 second lead for Luna Rossa at gate five. Halfway up the final leg, Te Rehutai trails by 400 metres.

4:36pm: Team NZ trailing by 27 seconds upon entering the penultimate leg of the race. Luna Rossa still looking in control.

4:33pm : Luna Rossa find wind and pick up considerable speed coming up the fourth leg. Looks like any gains Team NZ made on the previous leg, have disappeared.

4:29pm : Team New Zealand make considerable gains up the third leg. A 22-second lead for Luna Rossa at the third gate. Te Rehutai reaching a top speed of 37 knots on that leg.

4:24pm: The Italians still hold a 32 second lead at the second gate. There's roughly 300 metres between the two AC75s at the moment. Luna Rossa sailing a clinical race so far. 

4:21pm: Luna Rossa clear the first gate with a 32 second lead. Team New Zealand enter the downwind leg on the opposite side of the course.

4:17pm: Halfway up the first leg and Team NZ are paying for the poor start. Luna Rossa is holding a 200 metre lead. Still early days though!

4:15pm: Both boats drop off the foils just a minute out from the start time. Luna Rossa pickup speed though and start foiling. Jimmy Spithill and his crew cross the starting line with a huge lead over Team NZ.

Jimmy Spithill and the Italian syndicate’s crew owned the start to race five as Team NZ fell off their foils.

4:10pm: Just five minutes out from the start. The two teams will be squaring off on course A. Windspeed is sitting at around 9 knots. Plenty of fans out on the water in the first weekend of America's Cup action under Level 1. 

3:45pm:  It is still tied 2-2 between Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa with both teams again claiming a win each in yesterday's racing.

Winds are still light however, there doesn't seem to be any doubt that we will see racing today with Team New Zealand holding the port-side entry for the first race of the day. 

Despite calm conditions in the lead-up to yesterday's racing, the wind picked up at race time.

The Italian vessel posted a convincing 37-second lead in race three but their efforts were overshadowed in race four.

Team New Zealand held the early advantage but a potential issue with Luna Rossa’s foil arm saw the Kiwi boat's lead grow.

Te Rehutai would go on to level the scores with a massive 63-second win.

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