Louis Vuitton Act 12 - Day 2 -Preview: Test of fire for ESP-88 of Desafío Español

Good morning from Valencia, where another sunny summer day has started and as far as the meteorological conditions are concerned, very similar to yesterday's excellent breeze that prevailed during the first day of racing. The sea breeze will start developing around mid-day and wind speeds will pick up in the afternoon, reaching a range of 11 to 14 knots. Today marks also the beginning of the countdown to the America's Cup match, exactly one year from now. As a result, today's weather pattern is doubly important and might give us an indication whether the auspices for the world's most famous sailing race seem favorable.

The local team, Desafío Español 2007, will be able to carry out the first test of fire of their brand new boat ESP-88, first with Alinghi and then with BMW Oracle. It will be without any doubt the most interesting races, especially the second one, as the two newest America's Cup yachts will face each other for the first time. The Spaniards of course enter the starting box with a clear disadvantage, having sailed their brand new boat for just a couple of weeks.

Further down the lead table, there is an interesting three-way confrontation with United Internet Team Germany facing Areva Challenge and Shosholoza. In Louis Vuitton Act 10 the German challenger beat the South African and lost to the French who also proved to be a very tough opponent for the Spanish team. All three teams lost both of yesterday's races and are pointless at the bottom of the provisional table .