12.30pm - by JULIE ASH
Russell Coutts' Swiss syndicate Alinghi advanced to the final of the Louis Vuitton challenger series this morning beating Oracle BMW Racing 4-0 in the best-of-seven series.
After a short delay racing finally got underway late this morning on a shortened course in 15 knot winds.
The past three days had seen racing abandoned due to high winds, and the race committee opted to stage shorter races starting today in order to be able to complete two per day in each semifinal series if necessary.
Alinghi, however, didn't allow Oracle to record a single victory in their semifinal pairing.
With Peter Holmberg back at the helm for Oracle today it was a pretty ordinary start from both teams.
Alinghi powered over the line 3s ahead and with the favoured right hand side flew up the first beat and around the first mark 35s ahead.
Oracle gained 24s on the first down wind leg capitalising on a nice shift.
Alinghi rounded the second mark just 11s ahead but once again powered up the beat to round the last mark 41s ahead before winning by 48s.
The Chris Dickson-skippered Oracle BMW Racing will now race the winner of the OneWorld versus Prada match in the semifinals repechage, which is also a best-of-seven series, starting on Friday.
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Racing schedule, results and standings
Alinghi consigns Oracle to repechage round
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