Team New Zealand has scored two wins from two on the second day of the America's Cup challenger series in Bermuda.
Team New Zealand heads out onto the water ahead of their first race. Photo: RNZ / Todd Niall
First, Peter Burling's crew beat Japan by 33 seconds.
The match was a poignant one for Team Japan skipper Dean Barker, who was dropped by Team New Zealand after he lost the 2013 America's Cup to Oracle Team USA in San Francisco.
Japan took the lead at the start and held on until the fifth of the seven legs.
In their final race of the day, New Zealand had little trouble against Great Britain, beating them by 1 minute and 28 seconds.
They now have three wins and a loss.
Look back at our Live Blog here.
Team USA suffers first loss
Underdogs Team France won their first race of the America's Cup, while defenders Oracle Team USA tasted defeat for the first time in the contest.
Artemis Racing, the pre-event hot shots, were beaten by the French team in a thrilling duel.
The Swedish team made amends in their second race by ending the three-race winning run of Oracle Team USA with a convincing show of tactics and boat speed giving them victory by a 39-second margin after they took the lead from the start.
Earlier, Oracle saw off the British challenger in the first race of the day.
There were doubts over whether the British team would be able to race at all after Ben Ainslie holed his boat in a clash with Team Japan during the opening day of the qualifying races.
"It was just smooth sailing and no panic," Spithill said after the race, adding that he was "not yet satisfied" with the performance his crew were getting out of their catamaran.
"The boat is getting quicker every day and we just need to keep that going," Spithill added.
In their final race of the day, Spithill's crew scored a convincing win over Team Japan.
Rule change limits boat protests
A new rule change will limit the number of protests a team can lodge about a rival's boat.
The event's race management said each team would be allowed only one successful complaint alleging an irregularity on a rival's boat.
In another change to traditional rules, teams would not see the complete specification of each other's boat, when they are signed off each day by officials.
It would limit teams' ability to complain only about aspects it can see, and not to know what technology or systems are concealed on the boats.
The change has been driven by the teams themselves, but Team New Zealand opposed the move.
With respect to many changes brought in to this regatta, Team New Zealand has kept aloof from what it considers a club made up of the defender Oracle TeamUSA, and the four other challengers.
- RNZ/Reuters
