Grant Dalton says managing his team's energy levels is a priority two weeks out from the start of the America's Cup challenger series - starting with the final pre-regatta, which begins tonight in Valencia.
For the challengers triple ranking points are on offer in the four-day fleet racing
regatta.
The rankings translate into bonus points that are carried into the challenger series.
The top-ranked team will get four points, the second, third and fourth ranked teams will all receive three points each and so on. Emirates Team New Zealand are the top-ranked challengers with 125 points. BMW Oracle Racing are second with 123.
"In many ways Act 13 [the current pre-regatta] is just a distraction," Dalton said.
"I have always said that if you are the top challenger out of all these acts, that one point might end up important. We want to do well but it is fleet racing and with the conditions that we have had over recent weeks you could come first or last by half an hour.
"You wouldn't want to hit it at full peak [ahead of the challenger series] because the guys will run out of gas." As a result Team New Zealand are expected to rotate their crew.
Britain's Daily Telegraph has suggested that Britain's Ben Ainslie may helm the boat instead of Dean Barker to give the Team NZ skipper a break before the challenger series.
Unlike previous challengers series, which have dragged on for up to four months, this one is over in nine weeks.
In the first round teams will compete in two races a day before dropping back to one a day for round two. After three weeks seven teams will be eliminated.
"Sitting where Alinghi is," Dalton said, "you could sustain an argument that says the way they set it up is to make sure the challengers are so stuffed when they get to the America's Cup they don't perform at their peak.
"We are very conscious of that, like I am sure all the challengers are."
