Oracle Racing finishes one point clear in Valencia

BMW ORACLE Racing finishes one point clear in Valencia

The American BMW ORACLE Racing team beat Italy's +39 Challenge today to complete racing in Louis Vuitton Act 10 and extend its lead on the points table. On Tuesday BMW ORACLE Racing won Act 10, when it was determined it would win the four way tie-break scenario at the top of the table. With today's win the Americans are one point clear, their only loss coming to Alinghi.

It was another good day for racing in Valencia, with a light Southeasterly breeze providing plenty of opportunities for gains and losses.

Despite having won Louis Vuitton Act 10 on Tuesday afternoon, today's race was important to BMW ORACLE. That's because the 11 challenging teams are also racing for Louis Vuitton Challenger Ranking Points and for this purpose, ties are not broken.

This challenger ranking is used to award bonus points prior to the challenger selection series in 2007. By finishing one point clear of its rival challengers - Luna Rossa and Emirates Team New Zealand- on the Act 10 leaderboard, BMW ORACLE Racing drives them further down the Louis Vuitton Challenger Ranking table, increasing its lead for those important bonus points.

Racing begins again of Friday with the first fleet race of Louis Vuitton Act 11.

FLIGHT 6 - Make-up match - BMW ORACLE Racing vs. +39 Challenge

A mild pre-start saw both boats hit the starting line with speed on starboard tack. BMW ORACLE Racing looked to be in a windward position where it could force +39 Challenge out to the layline. But the helmsman on the Italian boat, Iain Percy, was able to squeeze up and force the Americans to tack to the right hand side of the course. The boats raced up the centre right of the race course, and the American team was able to eke out a small advantage over the length of the leg.

On the first run, the Americans extended further in the light conditions and built a 38-second lead that would only increase over the second lap of the course.

ENDS

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