Emirates Team NZ outwit Luna Rossa

Emirates Team New Zealand won the first real race of the America's Cup challenger series, easily beating Italy's Luna Rossa in San Francisco Bay Saturday. New Zealand skipper Dean Barker's catamaran came out on top against a familiar foe in the first two-boat race of the Louis Vuitton Cup which serves as the challenger series of the America's Cup event. The Kiwis completed the course in 43 minutes, 52 seconds as they sailed away to win by nearly five and a half minutes on the 15.5 nautical mile course. New Zealand recorded a top speed of 42.33 knots, compared to Luna Rossa's 39.95 knots. "There was a really nice public turnout today, good to have two boats out there on the racecourse,” said the 40-year-old Barker. "It can only make you better because you put yourself in different positions; you get to find out what's going on around the start line and the first reach. That's all paramount to how the race plays out.” Luna Rossa helmsman Chris Draper said, "We ended up almost where we thought we'd be, probably a little bit worse off. "I think the majority of the losses were in boat-handling and a little bit in upwind boat-speed. But it's all fixable and we knew that was there, so no massive surprise.” On the racecourse, the Kiwi crew dominated the race with Barker steadily increasing his team's advantage at each mark rounding, especially on the upwind legs. The next scheduled race is Sunday and also features Emirates Team New Zealand, who are favoured to win the 2013 Louis Vuitton Cup. The final round of the Louis Vuitton Cup is scheduled for August 17-30. Source: Khaleej Times