Even stephens

As Team Dennis Conner even the balance in Louis Vuitton quarter finals

Day two - Louis Vuitton Cup quarter finals

Victories today for Alinghi, Oracle BMW Racing and Victory Challenge on the second day of the Louis Vuitton Cup quarterfinals put them halfway to winning their respective matches.

While those three teams stand at 2-0 in their respective matches, Team Dennis Conner evened its series with GBR Challenge at 1-1 after leading start-to-finish. Conner’s Stars & Stripes, USA-77, was the only team to reverse the opening day’s outcome.

The second day of the quarters saw more fine weather, with a shifty 15-knot breeze from the south/southwest. Although there weren’t as many lead changes or penalties as on the opening day, the matches were no less intense, especially on the final runs.

Oracle BMW Racing’s lead came under threat when their spinnaker pole broke during the set, allowing OneWorld to close up.

Alinghi saw most of its 36-second lead evaporate when they split with Prada for the other end of the finish line.

Sweden’s Victory Challenge dominated France’s Le Defi Areva for a second day.

Winner	Loser	Delta
Team Dennis Conner	GBR Challenge	1.17
Oraclce BMW	OneWorld	0.17
Victory Challenge	Le Defi	1.10
Alinghi	Prada	0.08

Today's weather: Large area of high-pressure (1025 mb) 300 miles NW of Auckland and moving very slowly east. Light and shifty SSW 4–8 knot winds slowly building through the afternoon to 19 knots. Sunny with partly cloudy skies, temperatures 17 – 21 C. Moderate to choppy seas.

Outlook: Fine and sunny on Friday with light WSW winds with a sea breeze enhancement.

Quarter final results

	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7
Alinghi (1)	W: 1:10	W: 0:08						Prada (4)
OneWorld (2)	L: 0:12	L: 0:17						Oracle (3)
Orm (5)	W: 2:03	W: 1:10						Le Defi (8)
GBR (6)	W: 1:00	L: 1:17						S&S (7)

Page Two: GBR / TDC
Page Three: Victory / Le Defi
Page Four: Oracle BMW / Oneworld
Page Five: Prada / Alinghi (worth it for the photo)