The challengers will begin racing in the Louis Vuitton Cup on April 16th. The teams will begin the Round Robin section of the event armed with the bonus points they’ve earned through the Louis Vuitton Ranking. In the Round Robins, a victory is worth two points, so each bonus point is equivalent to half a win. At the conclusion of the second Round Robin, only four teams will advance to the Semi Final, with the top two meeting in the Final. The winner claims the Louis Vuitton Cup and earns the right to race Alinghi in the 32nd America’s Cup Match.

From last weeks Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 13 where vital points for the final 4 were awarded, the challengers were shaping up. What is becoming clear is that three look certain to go to the semi final:

Emirates Team New Zealand: The Kiwis came into Act 13 leading the Louis Vuitton Ranking which assigns bonus points to challengers, and they extended their lead by sailing a strong regatta. Skipper Dean Barker didn’t sail in the races, handing the wheel to understudy Ben Ainslie, who helmed NZL 84, their first new boat, to second place. “We’ve certainly had to scrap and fight hard to get second place,” Ainslie said. “It’s been a good warm up and now we’re looking forward to the serious racing.”

BMW ORACLE Racing: If the American team had beaten Emirates Team New Zealand, it would have passed them on the Louis Vuitton Ranking and grabbed an extra bonus point. BMW ORACLE started Act 13 strongly, but had some poor results in the middle of the regatta, from which it couldn’t recover. In fact, it took some strategic sailing in the final race to preserve second position on the Ranking. “When we went around the bottom mark the Louis Vuitton Ranking points came down to the last lap of the last race. With us winning, Luna Rossa second, Alinghi third and Mascalzone Latino in fourth, Luna Rossa was beating us on the Ranking. We needed to slow them down, slow down the action in order to move Alinghi forward and get back into second overall,” explained navigator Peter Isler.

 

Luna Rossa Challenge: Luna Rossa Challenge wasn’t able to pass BMW ORACLE Racing or Emirates on the challenger ranking with its performance in Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 13. And on the final day, Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia overhauled them to become top Italian team in the fleet races. But Luna Rossa is still near the top of the challenger ranking and looking forward to the Louis Vuitton Cup. “I am not worried about the result in Act 13,” said helmsman James Spithill. “I’m sure when the game gets harder we will be ready for the match racing next week.”

As with the World Cup Rugby later this year, New Zealand continues to dominate the top of the sailing world.

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