The American BMW ORACLE Racing team beat Italy's +39
Challenge today to complete racing in Louis Vuitton Act 10 and extend its
lead on the points table. On Tuesday BMW ORACLE Racing won Act 10, when it
was determined it would win the four way tie-break scenario at the top of
the table. With today's win the Americans are one point clear, their only
loss coming to Alinghi.
It was
another good day for racing in Valencia, with a light Southeasterly breeze
providing plenty of opportunities for gains and losses.
Despite
having won Louis Vuitton Act 10 on Tuesday afternoon, today's race was
important to BMW ORACLE. That's because the 11 challenging teams are also
racing for Louis Vuitton Challenger Ranking Points and for this purpose,
ties are not broken.
This
challenger ranking is used to award bonus points prior to the challenger
selection series in 2007. By finishing one point clear of its rival
challengers - Luna Rossa and Emirates Team New Zealand- on the Act 10
leaderboard, BMW ORACLE Racing drives them further down the Louis Vuitton
Challenger Ranking table, increasing its lead for those important bonus
points.
Racing
begins again of Friday with the first fleet race of Louis Vuitton Act 11.
FLIGHT 6 - Make-up match - BMW ORACLE Racing vs. +39 Challenge
A mild
pre-start saw both boats hit the starting line with speed on starboard
tack. BMW ORACLE Racing looked to be in a windward position where it could
force +39 Challenge out to the layline. But the helmsman on the Italian
boat, Iain Percy, was able to squeeze up and force the Americans to tack to
the right hand side of the course. The boats raced up the centre right of
the race course, and the American team was able to eke out a small
advantage over the length of the leg.
On the
first run, the Americans extended further in the light conditions and built
a 38-second lead that would only increase over the second lap of the
course.