8.00pm
Despite suffering their second successive loss today, big budget America's Cup yacht syndicate Oracle say there are no alarm bells ringing.
In 11 to 16 knot west to northerly winds on the Hauraki Gulf, Oracle, backed by software billionaire Larry Ellison, lost their Louis Vuitton Cup match by 36 seconds to little-fancied British team GBR Challenge.
Oracle yesterday lost to one of the challengers series favourites, the Swiss Alinghi team.
Oracle main trimmer Mike Sanderson today countered speculation his team's boat USA-76 might be a little slow downwind, particularly in mid range winds.
"We're happy with how we're going downwind," he said.
"It's way too early for alarm bells."
Oracle led at only one mark, the third, in the race against GBR.
And on the next, downwind, leg GBR made their biggest gain of the race, turning a 27sec deficit into a 14sec lead at the fourth mark.
GBR team tactician Adrian Stead said Oracle had led around the top mark by five or six lengths, but the Wight Lightning crew had seen a good breeze running beside them.
"We sailed in more pressure, the guys did the gybes really well and suddenly we were there."
The breeze today had been shifty with big gusts, Stead said.
"We saw they were quicker upwind and ... we figured if we had a bit of luck today, took a bit of a gamble on what we thought were the best shifts, then we would be right in there, and it paid off."
From what he had seen so far, Oracle were very competitive upwind, while Alinghi and, another of the early favourites OneWorld, were probably the best allround boats.
Alinghi strategist Jochen Schuemann was another apparently unworried by any suggestion his boat might have some trouble downwind.
Alinghi beat the Swedish Victory Challenge team by 25sec today, leading at every mark, but the Swedes cut Alinghi's lead on every downwind leg, getting to within a few boat lengths of the Swiss on the run to the line before the Victory Challenge spinnaker ripped in half.
"It was tricky conditions ... a lot of wind shifts, a lot of pressure differences, so I think the trailing boat is favourite, and takes advantages with the puffs .. and that's what the Swedes did," Schuemann said.
- NZPA
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Racing schedule, results and standings
No alarm bells for Oracle after second loss in a row
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