19 Jun 2017

Team NZ sweeps Oracle again

8:43 am on 19 June 2017

Team New Zealand have swept Oracle Team USA for the second straight day at the America's Cup in Bermuda.

Team New Zealand and Oracle during racing on the second day of the America's cup final racing.

Team New Zealand and Oracle during racing on the second day of the America's Cup final racing. Photo: ACEA Giles Martin-Raget

The New Zealanders won both of today's races with margins of 49 seconds and one minute 12.

Today's conditions were similar to yesterday's with shifty nine knot winds.

Look back at how the racing unfolded.

The New Zealanders had a slight edge at the start of race three, but powered away on the second leg and controlled the rest of the race to win by 49 seconds.

It was an even start in race four, with Team New Zealand on the outside, but they found the speed and led by four seconds after the first mark.

From there, Team New Zealand just kept extending - highlighting their superior boat speed.

It means that Team New Zealand lead the series 3-nil in the race to seven after four wins, having started the final series one point in the red from Oracle's earlier bonus-point win.

Oracle now have six days to try and turn things around, with racing resuming next Sunday.

'We know if we stand still these guys will be catching us'

Speaking to media after today's races, Team New Zealand helmsman Peter Burling said it had been a good day for Team New Zealand, but the performance was far from perfect and there was a lot they could improve on.

"We know if we stand still these guys will be catching us."

Oracle helmsman Jimmy Spithill said they had a lot to review over the next five days and it was clear they needed to make some changes.

"These next five days will be the most important of the campaign."

Spithill said the team had been in a tough situation before and had had to respond to a lot of different challenges.

"This isn't our first rodeo, we've been in this position before and we've had less time before.

"We've got five important days and we'll be using every single hour of them."

Burling said Team New Zealand was on an incredibly steep learning curve and was confident they would perform better during next weekend's racing.

Fans in Auckland who watched the races on big screens at the Maritime Museum left the venue feeling quietly confident about Team New Zealand's prospects.

Sam Super was among those gathered and said he was backing the team all the way.

"Team New Zealand is just amazing and... if we can keep this up, that'd be great."

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