Louis Vuitton Act 12 - Day 2 - Flight 3

Alinghi - Desafío Español 2007 : 1 - 0

With Peter Holmberg on the helm, SUI-75, the Alinghi boat, proved to be a very tough benchmark for the Spanish America's Cup challenger and their brand new ESP-88. At no moment did the Spanish manage to threaten the Swiss who on the contrary widened their lead till the 3rd mark, after a very good 3rd leg where they gained more than half a minute because of their good play of the left-hand advantage. Even after gaining 20 seconds in the final downwind leg, Desafío Español 2007 finished 55 seconds behind Alinghi.

Despite this comfortable victory by Alinghi, the answer to the question whether the Spanish team made a wise decision in racing with ESP-88 instead of ESP-65 can be yes. It is true that the Spanish had just a couple fo weeks to test ESP-88 against ESP-65, it is this kind of racing that really puts the yacht to test, especially against teams such as Alinghi. With the exception of the Big Four, the rest of the teams do not have the luxury to wait any longer before racing with the yacht that ultimately could be the one for the Louis Vuitton Cup next year. This Louis Vuitton Act is their last opportunity in 2006 for official racing and even if they haven't finetuned it, racing with it provides invaluable feedback.

The race against BMW Oracle will be the day's second important test for Desafío Español.

Alinghi and Desafío Español racing in the second day of Louis Vuitton Act 12. Photo copyright: Ivo Rovira / Alinghi

United Internet Team Germany - Team Shosholoza : 0 - 1

It was probably one of the day's two races whose outcome was not easily predictable as it could go both ways for these newcomers in the America's Cup, the Germans having beaten the South Africans in Louis Vuitton Ac 10. Yet it was a convincing victory for Shosholoza, right from the start. With excellent tactics and moves during pre-start by Paolo Cian and then Tomaso Chiefi, the South Africans got an early lead on the left side which they kept and increased in every leg, finishing 1:35 minutes ahead of the Germans. It is clear the German team needs more work to escape from the bottom of the table.

+39 Challenge - Luna Rossa : 0 - 1

This Italian America's Cup confrontation was not supposed to push the adrenaline levels high in Valencia, but the agressive pre-start tactics by +39´s Iain Percy and the unusually tame response from Luna Rossa's James Spithill created a nice surprise when +39 was one boat length ahead of Luna Rossa after the start. Nevertheless, joy aboard ITA-59 was shortlived as the brand new ITA-86 zoomed ahead, crossing the fininsh line 1 minute ahead. +39 Challenge is in dire need of its new boat ITA-85, ready to be officially unveiled tomorrow evening.

Luna Rossa rounding the mark ahead of +39 Challenge in the second day of Louis Vuitton Act 12. Photo copyright: Ralph Palfrader / Luna Rossa