SECOND DAY OF ROUND ROBIN TWO report courtesy of Prada Press

In the second race of the Louis Vuitton Cup Round Robin two Luna Rossa won today against Nippon Challenge (skipper Peter Gilmour).

The race, scheduled yesterday, was postponed for 24 hours as the wind was over 18 knots.

Today the weather conditions were ideal, with a northerly breeze of 13 knots approximaetly.

The two boats Luna Rossa (ITA 45) and Asura (JPN 44) chased each other in an aggressive pre-start; Francesco de Angelis, skipper and helmsman of Luna Rossa, entered the start box with a good advantage on his rival and managed to control the Japanese boat until a few seconds before the start, when he was stalled and forced to tack crossing the line 16 seconds after Gilmour.

In the first beat de Angelis went to the right of the course whilst Gilmour kept the left. At the first mark Asura was 37 seconds ahead; Luna Rossa suffered a bad spinnaker hoist and had to drop the sail and hoist a new one.

The Japanese increased their lead to 40 seconds at the end of the first downwind leg, but during the second beat the titanium ring on the mainsail outhaul broke and Gilmour had to retire from the race. Luna Rossa, as specified in the racing rules, had to finish the race on her own, completing the course in 2 hours, 4 minutes and 11 seconds.

Francesco de Angelis said today: "We would have preferred if the race had finished without the Japanese breaking their gear; we would have been able to understand if we could have gained and reached Asura".

Also Abracadabra 2000 (skipper John Kolius) had to retire after breaking the mainsail during their race against FAST2000, the Swiss team who won today their first race where they kept the lead right from the start.

AmericaOne (skipper Paul Cayard) suffered their second defeat today; they crossed the start one second ahead of time and had to return on the line losing 38 seconds; their rival America True (skipper Dawn Riley) kept the lead throughout the rest of the race. Tonight Cayard's second new boat (USA 61) arrives in Auckland on an aircraft.

Tomorrow Luna Rossa will race against Young Australia 2000.

RESULTS OF TODAY - RACE 2 of Round Robin 2
1st Match Prada Challenge wins over Nippon Challenge (Nippon retires from the race)
2nd Match Young America wins over Spanish Challenge (1 minute 23 seconds lead)
3rd Match America True wins over AmericaOne (1 minute 28 seconds)
4th Match Le Defi wins over Young Australia 2000 (1 minute 43 seconds)
5th Match FAST2000 wins over Abracadabra 2000 (Abracadabra retires from the race)
NOT RACING Team Dennis Conner

RESULTS AFTER DAY TWO OF ROUND ROBIN 2 (4 points per win)
18 pts - ITA 45 (Luna Rossa)
16 pts - USA 53 (Young America)
12 pts - USA 49 (AmericaOne)
10 pts - USA 51 (America True)
9,5 pts - JPN 44 (Asura)
8,5 pts - USA 55 (Stars & Stripes)*
6 pts - FRA 46 (6eme Sens)
5 pts - ESP 47 (Bravo Espana)
4 pts - USA 54 (Abracadabra 2000)
4 pts - SUI 59 (be hAPpy)
1 pt - AUS 31 (Young Australia 2000)
*Stars & Stripes was not racing today.

THE WEATHER TODAY
N-NE, 12-18 knots, with some puffs from the left. Mostly sunny in the morning, with longer cloudy periods through the day. Warm and humid. NE swell up to 1.5 metre; sea moderate in opposing tide.

THE RACE COURSE
Windward-leeward format, 18.5 nautical miles; six legs, three upwind and three downwind; the first and the last legs are 3.25 miles long, the others 3.00 miles.

THE RACING TOMORROW - RACE 3 of Round Robin 2
1st Match Spanish Challenge vs Le Defi
2nd Match FAST2000 vs AmericaOne
3rd Match Team Dennis Conner vs Abracadabra 2000
4th Match Young Australia 2000 vs Prada Challenge
5th Match Nippon Challenge vs Young America
NOT RACING America True

THE WEATHER TOMORROW
N winds, 12-15 knots. Mostly cloudy with a few showers.

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