Tight races and crash at America’s Cup
Team USA claims two victories to lead the qualifiers
Bermuda — Oracle Team USA rallied to edge Emirates Team New Zealand as the 35th America’s Cup got under way with two wins for two-time defending champions Oracle and a collision involving Ben Ainslie’s Land Rover BAR. The drama unfolded under picture-book skies on Bermuda’s Great Sound, where near gale-force winds had prevented the scheduled start on Friday. For the first time the defending champions are competing in the qualifiers and Team USA did not disappoint. On Saturday they delivered the first of two thumpings handed out to Groupama Team France before taking on New Zealand in a rematch of the 2013 America’s Cup — when the US outfit won eight straight races to seal one of the biggest comeback triumphs in sport. Team USA skipper Jimmy Spithill caught New Zealand as they rounded the mark into the penultimate leg and went on to win by six seconds. A closely fought start launched a fascinating contest that saw Team New Zealand take a 20-second lead at gate three. But by gate five...
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