Team New Zealand won three straight races yesterday to beat America’s Cup-holder Alinghi 3-1 in the best-of-five race final of the Pacific Series sailing regatta.
New Zealand came into the final day trailing 1-0 after losing the first race on Friday, but beat Alinghi by 29 seconds, 33 seconds and 20 seconds in consecutive races to claim the series title.
Bad blood simmered between the teams throughout the regatta.
PHOTO: AFP
Alinghi refused to race Team New Zealand at their first scheduled meeting in the round-robin stages and protested the regatta format prior to the finals.
Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker outsailed Alinghi’s American helmsman Ed Baird in all three races on the regatta’s final day and New Zealand was superior tactically and in boat handling to the Swiss team.
New Zealand won the starts in each race and was able to lead at the top mark.
In the final race yesterday, Team New Zealand won a tacking duel to lead by 28 seconds at the first mark. Alinghi struggled to set its spinnaker on the first downwind leg, but closed on Team New Zealand before the bottom mark.
Team New Zealand broadened its margin on the second beat, then pulled away as Alinghi had more spinnaker problems on the run to the finish.
The teams had raced twice previously in multi-race finals.
Alinghi beat Team New Zealand 5-0 in a best-of-nine series to win the America’s Cup off Auckland in 2003 and won again, 5-2, when it defended the Cup off Valencia in 2007.
The Pacific Series involved 10 teams from America’s Cup racing, which is currently inactive because of legal action between Alinghi and America’s Oracle Racing being heard by the New York Court of Appeals.
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
AC Milan’s slender hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Champions League took another hit on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat at Bologna which left them eight points from Serie A’s top four. Sergio Conceicao’s team sit eighth, some way behind fourth-placed Juventus after losing an entertaining contest at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a match which was rescheduled from October last year due to torrential rain and flooding. Swathes of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, much of which is fertile agricultural land, had been left under water following a massive autumn downpour. Dan Ndoye prodded home the decisive goal in the 82nd minute
Former Australian motorcycle gang member-turned-golfer Ryan Peake, who served a lengthy jail term for assault, yesterday produced a “life-changing” maiden win to qualify for The Open Championship. Peake held his nerve for a one-stroke victory at the New Zealand Open, earning him a berth at the major in Portrush, Northern Ireland, in July, pending clearance to travel as a convicted criminal. The 31-year-old from Perth celebrated animatedly and was showered with champagne by friends on the 18th green of the Millbrook Resort course near Queenstown after a redemption story rarely seen in the refined sport of golf. Peake held back tears as he
MILWAUKEE PREVAIL: Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points as the Bucks withstood Nikola Jokic’s 27th triple-double of the season to beat the Nuggets Golden State star Stephen Curry on Thursday drilled 12 three-pointers in a scintillating 56-point display that carried the Warriors to a 121-115 victory over the Orlando Magic. Curry’s explosive performance helped the Warriors dig themselves out of a 17-point hole, with the point guard signaling the start of the fightback with a three-pointer from beyond the half-court line to end the first half that pulled the Warriors within 66-52 at the break. In the third quarter, he single-handedly outscored the Magic with 22 points to Orlando’s 21. The four-time NBA champion finished two three-pointers shy of former teammate Klay Thompson’s record for most
RSS