The New Zealanders were irresistible on the final day of the second regatta of the Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series in the waters off Gothenburg. They opened the day in second place. In the final race, the five-man crew with helmsman, 49er world champion and Olympic favourite Peter Burling crossed the finish line in first place. With the strong performance on "Super Sunday", when results count double, Emirates Team New Zealand not only secured victory in Sweden. The Kiwi quintet also took the lead in the World Series season standings ahead of the British team Land Rover BAR and Larry Ellison's Oracle Team USA.
The American Cup defenders had done very well on the first of the two regatta days in Sweden with two race wins, but as skipper Jimmy Spithill himself had said on Saturday evening: "Everything depends on tomorrow when the points are doubled - that's Super Sunday! Having said that, of course I would still prefer to be in our position. We're sailing well, we're confident and we'll be ready." The Americans were too. But the Kiwis were the better team on this important Sunday and relegated the Spithill crew to second place. Spithill said: "We struggled today. We came out of the start with a penalty and never really recovered from that, we just couldn't find a way back to the top. The results say it all. There are no excuses. Everyone is sailing with the same equipment."
The British Land Rover BAR team with four-time Olympic champion Sir Ben Ainslie at the helm of the AC45 "flying" catamarans also performed convincingly. After the very fresh winds at the start of the weekend, light winds presented the six teams with completely new challenges on Sunday. Dean Barker and his newly formed SoftBank Team Japan took advantage of the shifty conditions without much training to move up to fourth place in the final classification in Gothenburg. As a result, the "Barker Boys" relegated the experienced host team Artemis Racing and Groupama Team France to fifth and sixth place respectively.
After their last place in the first regatta of the world series off Portsmouth, the Swedes had high hopes for the home game, but slowed themselves down several times. The team led by skipper and Olympic champion Nathan Outerridge and tactician Iain Percy capsized in training on Friday and damaged one of their foils in a grounding on Saturday. There was a little compensation for this with victory in the first of the two races on the final day, which had the Swedish fans cheering. However, the results of 4-6-1-6 were ultimately no better than a disappointing fifth place. The result was doubly annoying for 27-year-old Nathan Outerridge, as his New Zealand rival Peter Burling is not only ahead of Outerridge in the world series. The 24-year-old Burling, who was the youngest 49er sailor to win Olympic silver in 2012 with his co-sailor Blair Tuke off Weymouth, is also currently in a class of his own in Olympic sailing, which 49er Olympic champion Outerridge and his co-sailor Iain Jensen cannot match.
With 72 points, the New Zealanders have taken the lead in the World Series season standings ahead of the strongest European team Land Rover BAR (65 points) and Larry Ellison's Oracle Team USA (64 points). In fourth place is the fast-gaining new team SoftBank Japan with skipper Dean Barker, who appeared more cheerful, relaxed and hungry to sail in Gothenburg than he has for a long time. In fifth and sixth place after two of three regattas in the World Series are Artemis Racing and Groupama Team France with skipper Franck Cammas, who, like Burling, Tuke, Outerridge and Jensen, is also fighting for an Olympic starting place. Cammas sails in the Nacra 17 with Sophie de Turckheim.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
