KEY POINTS:
Team New Zealand have gone back into a testing phase in preparation for their America's Cup rematch with Alinghi.
The black boats were back on the Mediterranean yesterday after a three-day break following their 5-0 win over Luna Rossa in the Louis Vuitton Cup final,
Team NZ managing director Grant Dalton said beating Luna Rossa in such a short space of time had allowed them to test a few things.
"We are under no illusion of the pace of Alinghi from a straight boat speed point of view," he said.
"We are under no illusion of the depth of their technology and the skill of their yachtsmen. They are a formidable package.
"If we can extract some more out of NZL92, we have a window to allow us to try and do that."
Dalton said that in some ways they were just checking on some of the things done in Auckland.
"The fact that we stayed in Auckland for the length of time we did and we were able, through the help of private individuals, to fly the boats up here, allowed us to not get into the situation that maybe Luna Rossa found itself in after the semifinals where they were still looking at configurations and trying to evaluate them.
"We are re-evaluating what we think we already know. We are rechecking things in Valencia. In the conditions here, we are starting to see more spectator chop at the top mark, the wind is quite sheared with some quite light sea breezes."
Dalton said that once the testing phase was completed this week the team would take some more time off. "Then we will go into that period of getting ready for Alinghi."
Dalton wants his team's fans in New Zealand to know they can feel their support in Valencia.
"After 2003, we made a conscious decision we would not artificially court the New Zealand public," Dalton said.
"We didn't think it was right and hoped in the words of the late Sir Peter Blake that deeds not words would capture the public's imagination again.
"Although we live in a bubble here, I think from everything we are hearing it is starting to go off in New Zealand.
"Frankly that makes all of our hearts proud to know that the America's Cup is still alive and well in New Zealand and that we have huge support."
Dalton said the team saw that support as a positive and as motivation.
