The first team to earn five points will advance to the America’s Cup Match presented by Louis Vuitton against two-time defending champion Oracle Team USA.
In the Louis Vuitton America's Cup Challenger Playoffs Semi-finals, Artemis Racing won three consecutive races to defeat SoftBank Team Japan and Outteridge and his team will have to repeat that performance to advance to the match.
“We saw in the semi finals that anything is possible. We’ll keep chipping away. We won’t change how we tackle the starts or the first mark approaches. We’re six for six there. It’s more what we do in the upwind legs to help keep them behind us," Outteridge said.
“The boat’s going just fine. I think if we can keep attacking the races the way we have been, and (keep) trying to control Team New Zealand as much as we can that’s the important thing for us to focus on,” he added.
Sunday dawned with dark clouds and stormy skies in Bermuda and an ominous forecast – rain showers and thunderstorms crossed the Great Sound race area throughout the early afternoon and racing took place in winds that peaked near 15 knots and dropped as low 8 knots.
An even start saw Nathan Outteridge’s Artemis Racing gap off to the windward side of Burling’s Emirates Team New Zealand to take the high-speed option and lead into mark one for the fourth consecutive time in the series. At the bottom gate, the Swedish lead was just 5-seconds, with Burling keeping the pressure on, following Outteridge through the gate.
Race Five:
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| Photo: © ACEA 2017 / Photo Gilles Martin-Raget |
For the fifth time in five races, Nathan Outteridge and Artemis Racing led across the starting line and past mark one. There wasn’t a lot of engagement in the pre-start and Burling and Emirates Team New Zealand have yet to find an answer to get across the starting line with a lead.
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| Photo: © ACEA 2017 / Photo Gilles Martin-Raget |
Burling elected to take a split at the bottom gate and when the boats converged, Outteridge tried to slam a tight covering tack on the Kiwis, but Burling took the high road, pinching up to a safe and strong position approaching the boundary.
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| Photo: © ACEA 2017 / Photo Gilles Martin-Raget |
When the boats tacked again, the Kiwis were in a powerful leeward position and with rights, Burling luffed hard, forcing Outteridge to tack. The extra maneuver gave the lead to the Kiwis who soon crossed ahead to round the windward gate with a 13-second lead.
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| Photo: © ACEA 2017 / Photo Gilles Martin-Raget |
From there, it was straight-forward to the finish. Burling and the Kiwis extended to take the win and a 3-2 series lead, with Sweden retiring from the race as the Kiwis crossed the line.
Race Six:
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| Photo: © 2017 ACEA/ Photo Ricardo Pinto |
Both boats crossed the starting line at speed in a neutral start, but with better pace and the leeward position on the reach to mark one, Artemis Racing’s Nathan Outteridge was able to push Burling well to windward of the target before turning downwind with a 3-second lead around mark one and then a 7-second lead through the bottom gate. The Swedish team is now 6 for 6 in terms of leading at mark one.
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| Photo: © 2017 ACEA/ Photo Ricardo Pinto |
New Zealand followed through the gate but an early tack on the first upwind leg allowed the Kiwis a bit of separation and a slight gain on a left hand windshift. Halfway up the leg, Artemis Racing put a tight covering tack on the New Zealand boat, forcing them back to the right side of the course, and into a big split. Artemis Racing held a narrow lead and crossed ahead when the boats met at the top gate, but New Zealand took the favored gate mark and sailed into the lead on the first half of the run.
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| Photo: © 2017 ACEA/ Photo Ricardo Pinto |
At the bottom gate, Outteridge was less than 2-seconds behind and as the boats turned upwind the Swedish bows were just metres from the stern of the Kiwi boat. But in disturbed air, Artemis Racing was forced to tack away. When the boats next converged, Burling had again extended to a more comfortable lead, always sailing a closer angle to the top gate where he held a 16-second lead.
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| Photo: © ACEA 2017 / Photo Gilles Martin-Raget |
Just when the race appeared to be in hand for the Kiwis, the team appeared to lose control on the final gybe and the boat settled into the water, very slow. This set up a dramatic sprint to the finish, but Burling had the faster angle, crossing the line just over one-second ahead of the fast charging Swedish boat.
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| Photo: © ACEA 2017 / Photo Gilles Martin-Raget |
Despite trailing at the first mark in all six races, Emirates Team New Zealand has earned four points. Burling says the team has confidence in its speed around the race course to help overcome any early deficits.
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| Photo: © ACEA 2017 / Photo Gilles Martin-Raget |
“Today was all about getting to that bottom gate in good shape and then trying to generate opportunities upwind, where we’re fast. We’re learning a lot about how to come from behind… We have the confidence we can run them down.”
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| Photo: © ACEA 2017 / Photo Gilles Martin-Raget |
The first weekend of the final match in the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Challenger Playoffs ends with Emirates Team New Zealand sitting on match point with a 4-2 lead.
Racing is scheduled to continue in lighter conditions on Mondayafternoon.
Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Challenger Playoffs – Final
Race 1 - Emirates Team New Zealand beat Artemis Racing – 47 seconds
Race 2 - Artemis Racing beat Emirates Team New Zealand – 15 seconds
Race 3 - Emirates Team New Zealand win – Artemis Racing do not finish
Race 4 - Artemis Racing beat Emirates Team New Zealand – 15 seconds
Race 5 - Emirates Team New Zealand win – Artemis Racing do not finish
Race 6 - Emirates Team New Zealand beat Artemis Racing – 1 second
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