America's Cup 2017: Live updates - Team New Zealand v Oracle Team USA - day two

  • 19/06/2017

Race four

Finish - It's a margin of 1:12 in the end for the NZ boat on an almost perfect day's racing for Peter Burling and their crew. Stay tuned for highlights.

Leg 6/7 - The advantage is almost a full kilometre now. Both crews seem almost a little stunned by this utter NZ dominance.

Leg 5/7 - The lead has been cut down to 40 seconds but it's still looking very comfortable for NZ out there. The upwind leg spelling danger for Oracle yet again as NZ edge further ahead, their boat speed around three knots superior. It's over 500m now to the good for the Kiwis as they beeline to gate five.

Leg 4/7 - Around gate 3 they go, and the Team NZ is out to a 50 second lead and cruising. A very stern looking Spithill flashes onto camera, perhaps a time for a rethink?

Leg 3/7 - NZ stretch to a 200 metre advantage, and growing as they round into the third leg. Team NZ tack in the middle of the course but maintain their boat speed well, not much lead lost there.

Leg 2/7 - Round one marked first by Team NZ as they're again the faster boat, almost 4 knots advantage again as they continue their upwind dominance. 

Pre-start - Both boats jostling for position. Bad gybe by Team NZ sees them on the backfoot, in a tricky predicament as they edge to the line. Great recovery from Burling however, and he takes the early lead as they race to mark one.

Race three - Team NZ win by 49 seconds.

Finish- The Kiwis blitz to the line leaving the Americans in their wake A fantastic performance by the Kiwis, clinical throughout as they lead from start to finish. The American boat has struggled to cope with Team NZ upwind, and that's been the story of the series so far.

15:56 - Spithill dropping some 'F' bombs on deck, a sure sign things aren't going his way. They issue a last-ditch penalty request, pure desperation as the Kiwis coast to the final mark.

10:55 - Into leg 5 they go, slightly sketchy tack but they're quickly back up to speed. Oracle need something special to take this one, only two relatively short legs remaining and the lead still just under 300m.

9:20 - Oracle trying anything to get back into this race, the NZ boat has been clinical, sailing all the right lines. Wind speed is up to 11 knots now and much less shift than we saw in day one.

7:45 - Around gate 3 come NZ , Oracle forced to make an extra tack in the lead-in. The Kiwi advantage has stretched to over 330m now with three legs to race.

5:10 - Kiwis tacking in all the right spots, Oracle really need an error to work their way back into this contest.

3:35 - Just a tiny mistake from Oracle as they dip their nose and the Kiwis capitalise, edging out to a 100m lead.

2:20 - They round the mark into leg 3, NZ into the lead with a boat speed about 5 knots quicker than Oracle.

1:15 - Both boats hitting some impressive speeds. NZ hit the penalty light, believing the US have overlapped. Protest is dismissed.

1:10 pre-start - Team NZ gain the early advantage as they draw closer to the start line. Spithill trying to push Burlingto the outside line. Both boats on their foils immediately, neck and neck to mark one.

Kia ora and welcome to live updates of day two of the America's Cup match between defenders Oracle Team USA and our very own Team New Zealand in Bermuda.

We have two races slated for the morning, with the Kiwis looking to increase their series lead after an emphatic opening day of racing against the American boat.

We bring you live streaming written commentary, video highlights, and all the action. Video of the racing will be available at the conclusion of the day's action.

America's Cup - day two

Race one - 5:12am (NZT)

Race two - 5:57am (NZT)

Pre-race banter

Team New Zealand do their talking on the water

By Greg Pearson

And breathe.  A little easier anyway.

Team New Zealand has taken out both races on the opening day of the America's Cup Match in Bermuda, cancelling out the defenders' one race advantage for topping the Qualifiers and giving the Kiwis a 1-0 lead over Oracle Team USA.

And lets maybe give Peter Burling some credit. For all the pre-race build up focused on Jimmy Spithill's prowess in the start box and Burling's lack of experience, the Kiwis had the advantage off the line in both races.

In the first race Oracle's disadvantage was self-inflicted after Spithill crossed early, but in the second Burling positioned the NZ boat perfectly and had the Americans in his wake around the first mark, and for the rest of the race.

In fact the early start was the only time Oracle were in front in both races. It wasn't a flawless display from Burling and co - a bad gybe around the final mark in race one had flashbacks of the one second win over Artemis Racing in the challenger final.

Then a few sloppy manoeuvres and wind shifts in the defenders favour closed Oracle up to within touching distance around the fifth mark of race two.

The conditions definitely suited the Kiwis with the wind at the lower end of the range for sailing.

Maybe Oracle's decision to get involved with the challengers has backfired.

It was the first time a defender has ever raced with the challengers, but it meant the Americans had to design a boat for all conditions, rather than focus on when it really matters - the next couple of weeks.

That was a lesson Team NZ learned the hard way four years ago, when the conditions changed for the second week of the Cup Match.

And from what happened then we all know not to get ahead of ourselves, though the signs are encouraging.

Greg Pearson is a sailing correspondent for Newshub.

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