America's Cup: The problem with Japan and Oracle's alliance

Oracle Team USA competes against Groupama Team France (not shown) during America's Cup qualifying on the Great Sound in Bermuda on Tuesday. Photo / AP.

America's Cup defender Oracle Team USA were not sitting idle today as the challenger series got under way in Bermuda.

Jimmy Spithill and his team were out on the water in the Great Sound today putting their boat - USA-17 - through its paces as they seek continued performance gains in advance of the Cup match, which gets under way on June 18.

Oracle, who will take a one-point advantage through to the Cup match after taking out last week's qualifying series, had some assistance with their preparation, lining up against stablemates, Team Japan, for a short period.

Under the protocol that governs this America's Cup, Oracle must be granted access to the race course in Bermuda each day before racing in the challenger series commences. The rules also allow them to sail in an organised fashion with other teams that may be out on the race course with them at that time.

Given the close working relationship between Oracle and Team Japan to date, it was no surprise to see the two teams sparring on the Great Sound today.

It seems the bulk of Oracle's development work will be done during the night by the shore crew to allow the testing to go on during the day by Spithill and his crew. Having another team to gauge the effectiveness of their constant tweaks will be crucial - and it appears Team Japan, who have had a design and data-sharing agreement with the defender since joining this cycle of the Cup, are happy to play that role.

The shakedown was also of value to Team Japan, who showed some serious speed when they took on Artemis Racing later in the day in the challenger semifinals. Dean Barker and his crew looked to have a healthy speed advantage over the Swedish team, but a tactical blunder in the second race cost Team Japan a 2-0 start to their best-of-five semifinal match.

Barker told the Herald is he pleased with the way the boat has been performing.

"Clearly the boat is going pretty quick, particularly upwind, and we feel strong in those conditions," he said.

"It was obviously disappointing not to come away with two wins, but I think we can be very, very encouraged by the way the boat is going and the way we are sailing in general.

But while Oracle and Team Japan's competitive aspirations align at the moment, the further Barker and his team advance in the regatta, the more the dynamics of the working relationship with the defender will be questioned.

It is almost unprecedented in America's Cup sailing for a challenger to help out a defender, and at some point, if Team Japan genuinely want to take out the event, their alliance with Oracle becomes counterproductive.