America's Cup - Oracle Team USA finishes RR1 racing with four wins

by Oracle Team USA on 29 May 2017 Oracle Team USA, the defending champion of the America's Cup, has finished Round Robin One of the Louis Vuitton America's Cup Qualifiers with a four - one record.

With three races sailed in perfect conditions on Sunday afternoon in Bermuda, the team is the first to complete the Round Robin.

And with five points, including a bonus point earned from the Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series, the Oracle Team USA is assured to be top of the leaderboard at the end of the first Round.

While skipper Jimmy Spithill says he's pleased to be on top of the leaderboard, he acknowledges the team has more to give.

'We hold ourselves to high standards so we're not completely satisfied,' he said. 'We still feel there is a lot of development on the table.'

After two wins on Saturday, Oracle Team USA opened the racing on Sunday with a win over Land Rover BAR. Spithill and tactician Tom Slingsby found themselves behind through the first downwind gate, but strung together some favorable windshifts to make a pass and win the race.

'Today was all about keeping your head up out of the boat and looking for those opportunities,' Slingsby said.

'It was a challenging day, but we had a couple of legs where we were able to thread the needle and make some good gains.'

In the second contest against Artemis Racing, Spithill said the team stalled out at a critical moment in the pre-start and again trailed early. Despite making big gains on the final upwind leg, there was not way past, and Oracle Team USA dropped its only race of the series.

In the final race of the day against SoftBank Team Japan, an early lead quickly turned into a dominating performance, leading to the four - one record.

'Today was about sailing well and trying to avoid the tough spots on the race course,' Spithill said. 'You needed to get off the line cleanly and keep the mistakes down.'

Conditions were good for racing all weekend, with sunny skies and winds in the eight to twelve knot range. Shifty conditions kept the tacticians busy.

Oracle Team USA was the only team to sail the maximum allowable three races on the day, providing a test to the powerhouses at the front of the boat. But grinder Ky Hurst was taking it in stride.

'We're just doing what we're born to do - give power to the people,' Hurst joked.

'We all have a role to play to make this boat go well. From a production point of view I think we did really well today.

'We've been training for this for a couple of years, so our fitness is at the point where we can deliver on a day like today.'

Sunday was America's Cup Endeavour day in Bermuda, a program strongly supported by Oracle Team USA over the past two years. At the dockout show on Sunday morning, Oracle Team USA sailors brought youth sailors on stage with them, while the America's Cup Endeavour program ran sailing trials adjacent to the race course during the afternoon.

Preliminary Results Table (team -- wins/losses -- points):

• Oracle Team USA -- 4 / 1 -- 5 points (includes 1 bonus point)
• Land Rover BAR -- 1 / 3 -- 3 points (includes 2 bonus points)
• Emirates Team New Zealand -- 3 / 1 -- 3 points
• Artemis Racing -- 2 / 2 -- 2 points
• SoftBank Team Japan -- 1 / 3 -- 1 point
• Groupama Team France -- 1 / 2 -- 1 point

Oracle Team USA is not scheduled to race on Monday.