Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa were all square at 1-1 after the first two races of the 36th America’s Cup off the coast of Auckland on Wednesday, an opening day that promised a thrilling contest for the oldest trophy in international sport.
Defender TNZ won the first race in the best-of-13 match by 31 seconds after Luna Rossa, co-helmed by Australia’s Jimmy Spithill, fluffed the start but the Italian challengers charged back to take the second by seven seconds.
Luna Rossa leads Team New Zealand during race two in Auckland on Wednesday.Credit:Getty
TNZ skipper Peter Burling conceded his team had not been at their very best in their first races for some three months, particularly at the start of the second race.
“Looked a little bit rusty on that one but it was good to get back a bit on them and really show that we have good downwind (speed),” the Olympic champion said.
“Felt like the boats were pretty even today (in terms of speed), I felt like you just had to do the right things … we made a few mistakes with tacks and stuff…. yeah, you could say it’s rust.”
The first day of racing, which was delayed for four days by a coronavirus lockdown in Auckland, confirmed that the battle for the ‘Auld Mug’ would at least be a contest after rumours that TNZ had far superior speed.
Jimmy Spithill.Credit:Getty
The Italians were swept 5-0 the last time they took on the New Zealanders for the America’s Cup in Auckland 21 years ago.
“I thought the boys sailed a great race then,” Spithill after the second race.
