Photo gallery of today's raceKEY POINTS:
Alinghi's general manager and design co-ordinator Grant Simmer says the failure of Chris Dickson's Oracle campaign proves the America's Cup is not just a technological game.
Dickson's BMW Oracle Racing were a surprise omission from the challenger series after they were comprehensively beaten by Luna Rossa 5-1 in the semifinals.
The American syndicate, backed by Oracle boss Larry Ellison, were the best-funded team in the competition and with BMW as a sponsor had plenty of engineering and design resources available.
But the issue for Oracle was not their boat but their people and a lack of chemistry between them, especially in the back of the boat with the volatile Dickson.
"The beauty of the America's Cup and the reason why many of us have been doing it so long is it is a technological event and it is a sporting event," said Australian Simmer, who is competing in his seventh cup.
"Any sports team will only perform if the motivation is right, if they have got their heads together and they are motivated.
"I am not saying that was the problem with BMW Oracle but they have publicly come out and said they have underestimated how strong Luna Rossa were going to be.
"If you look at the way Luna Rossa sailed they started well, they made good tactical calls and their crew work was impeccable. As a team they look the stronger package and even though BMW Oracle has a strong technological base it was not enough to overcome the performance of a sporting team that Luna Rossa put up."
When Oracle launched their first boat USA87, Dickson described it as the most innovative modern cup boat built.
Oracle's design strategy was to build one boat early and use it as a testing and experiment platform before building their second boat late in the piece. The strategy allowed for significant modifications to their first boat.
When asked if he saw anything on the Oracle boats which would indicate they were particularly innovative, Simmer said no.
"I am sure they were extremely well built. All of us are using similar tools to develop our boats and it is just a matter of making the right decisions."
When they won the cup, Alinghi altered the design rules slightly, which effectively closed them down and left little room for major breakthroughs. Simmer believes narrowing down the rules has made the racing closer.
"You are looking at a young team like Desafio Espanol going head to head with Emirates Team New Zealand. The fact that the rule has been narrowed down has meant a challenger like Desafio can get to the level of a strong team like Team New Zealand. I think that is good for the event."
* Team New Zealand were scheduled to have raced Desafio Espanol overnight. If they won they will advance to the final of the Louis Vuitton Cup against Luna Rossa starting on June 1.
