Straight eight

Coutts unbeaten at the Nations Cup

At the Nations Cup Russell Coutts is once again showing the form of a man who has won three successive America's Cup, racking up a series of consecutive wins in this event.

After today's racing, he’s the absolute leader of the event, winning the first race by 20 seconds over Luna Rossa, by an even larger margin in the match against Toscana Challenge, then finally, following an incredible gybing battle, winning the race against Mascalzone Latino by 15 seconds.

The fourth day of racing here has been dogged by the lack of wind, delaying the start of racing. Only five of the 10 matches expected took place. The other five necessary for completion of the Round Robin series will be raced tomorrow.

In the other two matches of the day, Emirates Team New Zealand lost against Mascalzone Latino by a margin of 15 seconds, but the Kiwis won the race against Paolo Cian by a much smaller margin.

The overall results now show Coutts leading, with a straight eight victories in eight matches, Luna Rossa in second place with 5 victories on 8 matches, Team New Zealand following with 4 victories on 8 races, Italian Challenger forth with 4 on 9 and Toscana Challenge, automatically out of the semifinale with only one victory on 8 races.

Tomorrow the last five flights of the Round Robin will be sailed from 10,30am, followed by the best of three semifinals.