Team New Zealand got off to a comfortable start on the opening day of the America's Cup preliminary regatta in Barcelona, capitalising on the technical issues of their rivals.
In what was tipped to be the race of the day 2021 America’s Cup challengers Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli took on Team New Zealand in race two, but it ended somewhat abruptly for the Italian team.
After a good start by both teams, the Italians splashed down after rounding a mark, with members of the crew heard shouting “we’ve lost the boat”.
The Italian challenge evaporated due to the onboard electronic issue which shut their boat down for 20 seconds, taking them off the foils and forcing them out of the race.
Team New Zealand skipper Peter Burling said he was pleased to start the regatta on a winning note, but it was a shame their rivals couldn't carry on racing.
“We've had some great practice racing against Luna Rossa and it was shaping up to be a really good race today,” said Burling.
“It was a real shame they had the issue with the boat and couldn't carry on because we felt that we had jumped out to a nice little lead there half way up the first beat and we were looking forward to some good racing.”
Meanwhile Jimmy Spithill, helmsman for Luna Rossa, said the diagnostics for their electronics issue had not yet been analysed.
“It was a shame as we had a good head-to-head race going with the Kiwis and it looked like it was going to be a good one. We were disappointed not to get that race in but in a lot of ways we’d rather that sort of stuff happens now rather than when it really counts.”
Swiss team Alinghi Red Bull Racing bounced back from their mast breaking earlier in the week to take the first race of the day against France’s Orient Express Racing.
American Magic defeated British challengers INEOS Britannia in race three, before Luna Rossa recovered from their early issues to take race four with the largest winning margin of the day, winning by a minute and 33 seconds against the Orient Express Racing.
Four teams sit on one point after racing with INEOS Britannia and Orient Express Racing the only teams yet to win a race.
The new generation AC75s impressed on the opening day of the preliminary regatta as they reached speeds of around 50 knots.
Team NZ will face Britannia and Orient Express overnight.
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