Louis Vuitton Cup - Round Robin 2 - Day 10: Preview

Good morning from sunny, windy and promising Valencia. It seems we will have another day of close and exciting racing under a constant and reliable breeze.

Today is match point two between Desafío Español and Victory Challenge, even if their race took place yesterday. If the Spanish beat BMW Oracle or the Swedes lose against Emirates Team NZ, Desafío Español is guaranteed its place in the semifinals. If not, then match point three will take place on Wednesday.

Obviously, the interest is not limited to the fourth place. There is an equally important fight for first place between BMW Oracle and Emirates Team NZ. Both teams must win their respective matches in order to finish the round robins first.

Whatever the results are today, the most remarkable fact is that the top four positions will no be decided until the last race of the last day.

Louis Vuitton Leaderboard after Round Robin 2 - Flight 9
Weather forecast
One doesn't have to be a meteorologist in an America's Cup team to notice the substantial increase in sunshine and temperature that started approximately a week ago. Temperature is expected to rise up to 25 degrees and the true Valencia conditions will most probably prevail today as well. According to the event organizers, the northeasterly gradient breeze will continue as will the sea breeze. Winds are expected to follow the recent pattern, starting as a very light north easterly gradient that will veer through east to south east as sea breeze develops to 10-14 knots. Once again, very little, if any, cumulus cloud is expected and it is going to be a dry day.

Racing Schedule Flight 10
China Team - +39 Challenge: After their surprise victory over Shosholoza on Monday, the Italians will score two easy points to further distance themselves from the bottom.
United Internet Team Germany - Areva Challenge: Areva shouldn't have any problems against what turned out to be the most disappointing challenge in the 32nd America's Cup.
Mascalzone Capitalia - Luna Rossa: An Italian derby that will probably swing to Luna Rossa's favor.
Victory Challenge - Emirates Team NZ: Victory Challenge must win this race in order to have a chance for the semifinals. If not, they get eliminated.
Desafío Español - BMW Oracle: Will the Spanish be able to repeat their upset victory of the first round robin?