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Kiwis hammer Oracle, snatch top place

A crew member of the Swedish yacht Victory Challenge jumps into the water as the yacht is lifted from the water after their last day in the second round-robin stage of the Louis Vuitton Cup in Valencia, Spain, on Wednesday. Emirates Team New Zealand finished first in the Louis Vuitton Cup standings, beating BMW Oracle Racing. PHOTO: AP

After nearly three weeks of America's Cup challengers series racing, four teams moved closer to earning the right to sail against defending champion Alinghi.

Emirates Team New Zealand, which topped the Louis Vuitton rankings after three years of fleet racing, beat US entry BMW Oracle Racing on Wednesday to finish top of the Louis Vuitton Cup round-robin standings.

The first-place finish meant Emirates Team New Zealand picked fourth-place Desafio Espanol for the best-of-nine semi-finals, which start on Monday.

"It's a little bit of choose your poison," Kiwis skipper Dean Barker said. "It's always difficult when you look at the different teams and the results you've had. In a match-racing event you choose a team you feel you're most comfortable against."

Despite the loss to the Kiwis, BMW Oracle Racing skipper Chris Dickson said his team would be ready for third-place Luna Rossa of Italy.

The Kiwis won by one minute, 34 seconds in the 11th flight race to end the America's Cup challengers series with 38 points, one more than BMW Oracle Racing, which had led since the April 20 first race.

Luna Rossa finished with 35 points after winning by 1:54 over Desafio Espanol, which ended with 29 points.

On the "Romeo" course, Mascalzone Latino finished sixth after beating fifth-place Victory Challenge by 38 seconds.

On "Juliet," +39 Challenge of Italy beat United Internet Team Germany by 30 seconds for its third straight win, and Shosholoza defeated Areva Challenge by 14 seconds to finish seventh.

Last-place China Team raced its final match on Tuesday, losing by 1:57 to +39 Challenge.

The America's Cup final against defending champion Alinghi will be staged from June 23 to July 4.
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