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ALINGHI TAKES 3-2 LEAD IN 32ND AMERICA’S CUP MATCH
2007-06-29

Swiss Defender Alinghi won Match 5 of the 32nd America’s Cup by 19-seconds taking a 3-2 lead in the series against Challenger Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ), with the winner the first to five victories.
 
After a close first leg, with both boats racing out to the starboard side of the race course, Alinghi rounded 12 seconds astern of ETNZ and was gaining on the first run when the Kiwi’s spinnaker blew out. With the ETNZ crew struggling to change sails, Alinghi sailed past and into the lead, turning a 40-metre deficit into a 140-metre lead within two minutes to lead through the leeward gate by 26 seconds.
 
Back upwind for the second time, Alinghi fended off constant attacks from ETNZ to round 24 seconds ahead. Heading downwind for the finish, the Kiwis flew a symmetric spinnaker, as opposed to Alinghi’s asymmetric sail, and they gained 5 seconds, but Alinghi skipper and tactician Brad Butterworth had the crew firmly placed to ward off the advances.
 
Today’s race featured more close boat-for-boat sailing and yet another lead change. Of the five America’s Cup matches sailed only two have not had lead changes.
 
Race 6 of the 32nd Match is scheduled tomorrow at 1500 hours.
 

QUOTES FROM FRANCESCO RAPETTI (ITA), MASTMAN ON SUI100
How does it feel to win two consecutive races for the first time in this America’s Cup?
“Very good, it’s what we like, it’s what we want: some continuity. We missed that in the first part of the regatta and I think it was because the wind was so shifty. We also made a couple of mistakes in the second race so now we want to go on to win and tomorrow will be very important.”
 
Were you happy with the pre-start today?
“Our goal was to start on the right and we did, but then the wind started to go to the left so it was a bit difficult coming into the topmark.” 
 
Did you feel threatened by Emirates Team New Zealand on the last leg?
“We did a couple of bad gybes, we were probably a little bit too excited about their mistake. We didn’t capitalise as well as we could have; that allowed them to jump closer to us but then we didn’t make any more mistakes and we won.”
 
A look forward to tomorrow and Race 6?
“Tomorrow is a very important race, for sure. It could be a turning point in this series.”

ENDS
 
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Alinghi flies the colours of the Société Nautique de Genève, Switzerland. Its partners for the 2007 campaign are UBS and BT Infonet (Main Partners), as well as Audemars Piguet, SGS, Nespresso, MSC Cruises, WISeKey and North Sails (Co sponsors).
Visit our web site at: http://www.alinghi.com/