Nieuw Zeeland op matchpoint: America’s Cup bijna beslist

Weer en wind dienende staan er morgenochtend twee races op het programma. Wint Nieuw Zeeland morgen de Cup of komen de Italianen terug?

Een gunstige windvlaag bracht de beslissing

In een spannende nek-aan-nek race waarin de Italianen het grootste deel van de wedstrijd aan de leiding voeren, profiteerde Emirates Team New Zealand, met aan boord de Nederlander Carlo Huisman, van een gunstige windshift om daarna de leiding over te nemen en niet meer af te staan. Stuurman Peter Burling was zich bewust van die kleine weersverandering die leidde tot de winst. Hij zei hierover: "It was a pretty tight race and one little right shift decided it for us. I think we did a good job at the start – it's good fun racing and great to be back on course C, and having a really good battle with a good team. We will keep fighting and keep trying to win races. This team has been in this position before, and so it about keeping improving, keep moving forwards. That race was close, and so we know we are going to have to sail well in the next one."

Italianen blijven hopen op succes!

Ondanks de achterstand blijft Max Sirena, de Italiaanse Team Manager vol goede moed voor de race van morgen. Hij zei na de race: "This was possibly one of the best races we have seen in the last 15 years of the America's Cup. The guys did really well controlling at the start, we kept them behind for four legs without ever giving up. After all, we are in the final against a very strong team and I am very proud of the guys on the water and the whole team, because today they raced an amazing race. Obviously we are very disappointed with the outcome, but we are still alive and tomorrow we will go on the water to fight and we will give everything. It's not over yet."

Ook Francesco Bruni, de stuurman van Luna Rossa houdt goede moed: "It’s a hard one to digest. We raced flawlessly until they overtook us: we had to decide whether to defend the left or go right, and in hindsight it probably was the wrong choice. It was very hard to keep them behind, they definitely had an extra gear because whenever we tried to stretch our lead we couldn't shake them off and as soon as we gave them some space they just set off. We don’t feel too much remorse because the race was conducted very well, but we don’t plan to give up and we will continue to do what we need to do, analyzing where we can improve to get back on the water geared up to go win."

Zijn teamgenoot Vasco Vascotto vult aan: "The race was really difficult with tricky wind conditions. I believe the boys raced incredibly well, and Team New Zealand was forced to adapt to our choices. We led the game, and gave a great show of match racing, not only at the start but also throughout the course. This is our mindset, and tomorrow we will keep on racing with this same attitude."

Morgenochtend rond de klok van 04 uur zijn de laatste twee races gepland. Zoals gezegd heeft ETNZ aan één overwinning genoeg, maar wellicht kunnen de Italianen morgen de boel nog spannend maken dat er een tweede race nodig is, of wellicht pakken ze allebei de races van morgen, waardoor er nog een extra racedag nodig is.

Kijk hieronder de race van vandaag.