At the starting line In Gothenburg, Sweden –
Giles Marin-Raget, ACEA
Oracle Team USA won both races today in Gothenburg, Sweden, at the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series’ second event. Land Rover BAR (Britain) took two 2nd places and ETNZ (New Zealand) won both 3rds.
Artemis Racing, the Swedish team, took one 4th and one 6th after running aground and damaging their foils (after race 1), which must have been disappointing for all the hometown fans.
“This morning we said we just needed to have a solid day to be in the mix for the double points on Sunday. We didn’t really have much chance in the second race today, but everyone is still quite upbeat,” said skipper Nathan Outteridge. We made mistakes but it’s all about how you recover. We’ll get the boat fixed up and be ready for tomorrow.”
Giles Martin-Raget, ACEA –
Gothenburg, Sweden, Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series
What was Oracle’s secret strategy?
It seems that the Start is a vital opportunity to separate yourself from the pack. The Start is all about time and distance. Oracle found a way to punch through the startup in both races and with their quick starts, maintained the lead and won both races. They had to gage the wind and predict the winds by studying the dark spots in the water. Wind is never static – always puffing up and shifting around. It seemed apparent that on the upwind, the left side of the course warranted more wind and Oracle heeded that information. Risk-taking aided them in staying in the lead, as they maneuvered close to rocks that are right in the middle of the course to find more wind.
But when Broadcaster Tucker Thompson asked Oracle’s Skipper Jimmy Spithill what so improved their racing from the first event in Portsmouth, Spithill replied, “We were candid and critical of each other….” You can download the America’s Cup app ($7.99) and watch day 2 of racing live at 3am Sun. or just wait for the next recap.
Again, as in Portsmouth last month, it’s amazing to see so many spectators gathered for a sailing event.
Race results are below and it’s double racing points tomorrow (Sun., Aug. 30). Every point counts towards the 2017 America’s Cup. Stay tuned.
Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series- Results
Oracle Team USA rounding the mark -Giles Martin-Raget, ACEA
Event 2, Day One of racing:
Team – Points
• Oracle Team USA – 20
• Land Rover BAR – 18
• Emirates Team New Zealand – 16
• SoftBank Team Japan – 13
• Artemis Racing – 12
• Groupama Team France – 11
Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series – Overall results for two events:
• Land Rover BAR – 37
• Oracle Team USA – 36
• Emirates Team New Zealand – 34
• SoftBank Team Japan – 26
• Groupama Team France – 24
• Artemis Racing – 21
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