OPINION: 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.
