1851 Cup - BMW Oracle Racing congratulates British crew

by BMW Oracle Racing on 7 Aug 2010 BMW Oracle Racing may have won the war in a race around the Isle of Wight, but today it dropped a battle on the Solent.

BMW Oracle Racing awoke trailing the match race regatta against TeamOrigin 4-1. But with wins today worth three points, the American yacht quickly tied the series by winning the first race.

The British crew rebounded by winning the next two heats with excellent performances in the pre-start and won the series with a six-point advantage, 10-4.

'Thanks to everyone involved who helped make this regatta happen,' said BMW Oracle Racing skipper Jimmy Spithill of Australia. 'I thought it was fantastic racing. TeamOrigin came out on top today and deserved to win, full credit to them. We look forward to the next match.'

The five-day regatta saw the two crews complete four days of match racing on the Solent. Yesterday they sailed a race around the Isle of Wight in a recreation of the famous race from 1851 that gave rise to the America’s Cup, sailing’s most revered event.

BMW Oracle Racing won the 53-nautical-mile race by one minute and 22 seconds. Coupled with its 2-0 win in the 33rd America’s Cup Match last February, the American crew has sailed 132 nautical miles of original America’s Cup racing in the past six months.

'I think just because of the history behind it, yesterday’s race meant a lot to both teams,' said Spithill. 'There was no pulling any punches. Both teams wanted it pretty badly.'

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