Team NZ pips Alinghi after Swiss have gear failure

9.00am

Team New Zealand gained a narrow win over Alinghi after the Swiss boat suffered gear failure at a pre-America's Cup yachting regatta in southern France overnight (NZ time).

It was a win the team members had been working up to since they started sailing off Marseille 10 days ago.

A torn genoa on Alinghi in the first leg of the race handed the lead to Emirates Team New Zealand which they held to the end to win by 13 seconds.

Team New Zealand managing director Grant Dalton, whose pre-regatta expectation was for the team to be competent and competitive, still takes a cautious view of the future.

"I know this race has been keenly anticipated and people talked of revenge but for us it was only another race against opposition we respect.

"The margin was only 13 seconds and we worked hard for every one of them. There's still nothing in it and there's a long way to go before the start of the challenger series in Valencia in 2007."

Alinghi strategist Jochen Schuemann said his team could have won as "we were doing everything well and had a good lead.

"But we tore the genoa and were unable to follow Emirates Team New Zealand like that. We had to take it down and put another up.

"We lost a lot of time, even though we did succeed in catching them."

Today's race was sailed in a south-east breeze of 11 to 16 knots with gusts over 20.

Team New Zealand claimed the left side of the course gaining a one to two boat-length lead. Halfway up the leg, a tacking duel developed with NZL82 ahead until Alinghi got better pressure and edged ahead.

A problem with Alinghi's genoa gave the lead back to NZL82 and they kept it to the finish, fighting off a relentlessly determined challenge.

NZL82 led around every mark, by 10 seconds after the first beat, 9 seconds at the second mark, 42 seconds at the third mark and 13 seconds at the finish.

- NZPA