Yachting: Team NZ beaten by French K-Challange

Dean Barker

Team New Zealand suffered a shock loss in their second race on the opening day of their pre-America's Cup yachting regatta off Trapani in Sicily today.

They were soundly beaten by French syndicate K-Challenge and team boss Grant Dalton blamed crew error for the upset result.

Team New Zealand beat South Africa's Shosholoza by one minute 49 seconds in their first race. They led off the start line and were never seriously threatened by the South Africans.

However, in the second race the New Zealanders sailed into trouble.

Both teams started perfectly at opposite ends of the line.

Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker took advantage of the right-hand side to take a comfortable three boat-length lead up the first beat.

NZL 82 extended the lead over FRA 60 to five boat-lengths down the first run, but failed to shadow the French who gybed away to the left.

When a massive windshift came through, skipper Thierry Peponnet was perfectly placed to capitalise on the change while the New Zealanders were left floundering. K-Challenge surged into the lead and were never challenged again to win by 1min 45sec.

"We wanted to be able to match them in the gybe. We went to gybe and there was a bit of a crew mistake and we were forced to gybe back," Barker said.

"That forced us into a dying breeze. We never wanted to be there. We can't blame our result on the conditions."

Thierry Peponnet, skipper of K-Challenge, was naturally delighted.

"It was a real pleasure because it isn't every day that you beat Team New Zealand," he said.

"It is also a relief to see that some of us are beginning to be a threat to the big teams. What I take from today is the way the whole team fought hard."

Cup holders Alinghi and American rival BMW Oracle won both of their races.

Three others -- Sweden's Victory Challenge, Italy's Luna Rossa and France's K-Challenge -- also won both their races.

In the first match Alinghi beat Desafio Espanol, who had Spanish tennis star Juan Carlos Ferrero on board as their 18th man, by 50sec.

In their second race China Team opened a surprising four boat-length lead on Alinghi at the start, but Ed Baird quickly brought Alinghi up to pace and the Swiss boat cruised to victory by 2min, 47sec.

BMW Oracle registered victories over Germany's United internet Team and Team Shosholoza.

Luna Rossa were the stars star among the three Italian teams. Skipper Francesco de Angelis led his team to wins over China Team and local Sicilian favourite +39 Challenge.

Match racing continues Tuesday. Two reserve days are scheduled for next Wednesday and Thursday, followed by three days of fleet racing.

The Louis Vuitton Acts are a series of 14 regattas that started last year as a prelude to the 2007 America's Cup, which will be held off Valencia, Spain. The results of the Acts will help seed the competition for the 2007 challenger trials.

- NZPA