Team NZ - 6 Oracle - 1
A flawless day of racing from Team NZ as they look to plant one hand on the Auld Mug. Join us back here at the same time tomorrow morning when the Kiwis will look to lift the Cup, and in the meantime, check out all the action here.
Race eight - Team New Zealand win by 30 seconds.
Final leg - Burling closes out another dominant performance,100 per cent flytime on the foils, a brilliant start. Perfection on the water as the Kiwis move to the cusp of America's Cup glory.
Leg six - It's officially desperation time for Spithill and his boat, staring at a 550m deficit. Into gate six they go as NZ continue to cruise away, there's no catching the flying Kiwis now.
Leg five - Team NZ scorching out there, they are blitzing the American boat as this contest ends in final stages. Around gate five they go as they enter the final downward leg, the advantage is 43 seconds.
Leg four - NZ round the mark and accelerate clear, Oracle having to slow down for two boat lengths as a result of the penalty. 250m is the lead. They edge out to 300m now as the cyclists dig in, Oracle need another wind shift.
Leg three - A decent wind shift has seen the American boat eat into that early lead, it's now less than 200m as both boats tack. We're at 100m now as they tack again in unison, we have ourselves a race here. Team NZ covering Oracle now, just looking to shadow their movements so as not to concede any more of their advantage. They're trying to force them to make an extra move. Penalty for Team NZ! Spithill breaches the boundary and that could be a critical error by the Aussie.
Leg two - One of the most dominant starts you will ever see from Team NZ as they claim yet another win at the start. So much for those start line issues. Up to gate three they head, NZ with a 200m advantage. Around the mark they go, it's a 24 second lead as Oracle split the gates.
Pre-start - Into the box the go, Spithill with port entrey this time. Burling and his crew will be looking for more of the same in this one, while the pressure is mounting on Spithill. Conditions a bit trickier to negotiate in this one, the wind currently very shifty while it's edged up to 9 knots in speed. Brilliant manoeuvre by Burling to claim Oracle's wind and they have bolted to a 200m edge before the start line! Absolutely incredible.
5:53am - Almost ready to resume proceedings now with race eight
5:40am - Team NZ got the better of the start and never relinquished the lead, capitalising expertly on their advantage and fending off Jimmy Spithill as they looked to chase them down on the final two legs. Check out the video above for highlights.
Join us again at 5:57am for race eight.
Race seven - Team New Zealand win by 12 seconds
Final leg - It may be too little, too late for Spithill and his crew, NZ secure the wind and sprint away to the finish.
Leg six - Oracle showing some superior speed as they look to chase. Rough gybe for Burling and Oracle may have found the mistake they were after. The lead has been chewed up to less than 200m now.
Leg five - The Kiwi cycylists digging in hard now as they look to close out this lead, the race is still firmly in Burling's hands. NZ looking to end the contest by staying in Oracle's wind for the rest of the race, tacking early as they head to the gate. NZ round the gate for the last downwind leg and further extend their lead, Oracle need a mistake now as they find themselves almost 400m to the bad.
Leg four - Wind shift caught well by Burling, still a 250-plus metre advantage for his boat. Spithill looking to catch one himself, he's almost entering desperation mode now.
Leg three - They tack simultaneously, Team NZ still dictating proceedings on the upwind leg. Burling makes his way right to the edge of the course before his next tack, they're out to an almost 300m lead. Up to gate three they head, Team NZ round crisply with Oracle following suit 33 seconds later.
Leg two - Both boats cruising at 27 knots, Oracle's droppong of over 100 kgs of boat weight seeming to have paid dividends. Team NZ just over 50m ahead.
Leg one - Team NZ edge towards the start line and execute a deft late fend to steal the early advantage. Promising signs early.
Pre-start - We're underway! NZ with port entry to the starting box, looking to set the agenda for the rest of the race.
5:07am - Our own Melissa Davies is right in the thick of the action, the NZ supporters making their presence felt at the Cup Village.
5:05am - The conditions in Bermuda are looking great for racing, the sun is out and more importantly for the Kiwis, the winds are right in their wheelhouse, currently sitting at just over 8 knots.
Hello and welcome to live updates of day four 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 move within one win of securing the Auld Mug, while Oracle seek to build on their encouraging closing win on day three.
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 four
Race seven – 5:12am (NZT)
Race eight – 5:57am (NZT)
Pre-race banter
We've got ourselves a boat race
By Greg Pearson
It took a while, but we've got ourselves a boat race.
As expected, Oracle Team USA have come out of the five-day America's Cup hiatus with an improved set-up - and their first win of the America's Cup - but as Jimmy Spithill admitted after another defeat to Emirates Team New Zealand in race five, "no speed is free."
Most noticeably, the Americans have modified their light air foils to closer match the Kiwis', and have done away with their attempt at a cycle grinding station in an effort to lose weight. The result: they're going quicker.
The cost Oracle's paid for that better straight line speed though is a downgrade in their manoeuvrability. The defenders dropped off their foils a number of times during today's races on the Great Sound, but were able to minimise the loss with their newfound increase in speed.
It's levelled the playing field. Team NZ are still smoother through their tacks and gybes, and didn't falter in their execution of those today. But the pressure is on Oracle to do the same, and are now having to work a lot harder to match the Kiwis or suffer the consequences.
The pressure has increased on Peter Burling, with the defenders now hot on his tail or - heaven forbid - even ahead. Today the young Kiwi crew did well, fighting back in race six a couple of times only for Spithill to get the better of Burling heading into mark five and able to sail away with the win. A tactical error, but they showed good smarts to get themselves into that position after trailing in the first place.
Oracle's win means the regatta will at least stretch into Tuesday morning. There are no more breaks for the teams to make any further modifications, and Spithill and his crew will roll into tomorrow with their tails up. From what we saw today, the outcome will likely to be determined by who makes fewer mistakes, so maybe Oracle getting a little cocky isn't a bad thing.
Greg Pearson is a Newshub sports producer and reporter.
