Oracle - one race from victory

After day three of Louis Vuitton Cup semi final repechage in Auckland

Louis Vuitton Cup - semi-final repechage - day 3

Semi final repechage - 20-28 December
Best of seven	Oracle BMW	OneWorld*
Score	3	0
Race 1	04:08	-
Race 2	0:03	-
Race 3	0:55
Race 4

*will be deducted one point due to ACAP ruling

Today's win was the eighth in a row by USA-76 over USA-67 since the Louis Vuitton Cup regatta began in October, leaving Oracle BMW the task of winning just one more race to progress to the finals.

Today's race began with some close action in the pre-start in which OneWorld came off worse by the time the starting gun was fired. Not only did the Seattle team carry a penalty, but they were over the line at the start.

Despite these two set backs which saw them trailing Oracle BMW from the start, OneWorld went on to sail a skilful first leg and managed to haul back much of Oracle's initial lead. By the first leeward mark the lead had been reduced to just 8 seconds. This turned out to be the closest that the pair got for the remainder of the race.

Oracle BMW Racing USA-76 went on to beat OneWorld USA-67, leaving Oracle at match point, with OneWorld staring elimination squarely in the face. Five straight wins are required to stay in the competition.

"It was very shifty out there," said Oracle's navigator Ian Burns shortly after crossing the line. "Either side of the course paid but if you got caught in the middle you could lose, so it was a very difficult day today."

See page two for the post-race debriefing by Chris Dickson and Peter Gilmour

Crew lineups today

USA-76		OneWorld USA67
Bow	Geordie Shaver	Bow	Alan Smith
Mid Bow Grind	Bill Bates	Mid-Bow	Don McCracken
Mast/Grind	David Brooke	Mast	Matthew Mason
Pit	Matt Smith	Pit	Jeremy Scantlebury
Starboard Grinder	Mark McTeigue	Grinder	Andrew Taylor
Port Grinder	Phil Trinter	Grinder	Craig Monk
Mid Grinder	Brian McInnes	Trim	Joe Newton
Spinnaker Trim/Grind	Robbie Naismith	Tail	Tatsuya Wakinaga
Genoa Trim	Bob Wylie	Main Grind	Kazuhiko Sofuku
Traveller Tactics	Cameron Dunn	Main Trimmer	Don Cowie
MainTrim	Mike Sanderson	Strategist	Ben Durham
Aft Grind	Eric Doyle	Runner	Richard Dodson
Afterguard	Tommaso Chieffi	Helmsman	James Spithill
Afterguard	Ian Burns	Tactician	Charlie McKee
Afterguard	Peter Holmberg	Navigator	Kevin Hall
Skipper	Chris Dickson	Skipper	Peter Gilmour
17 th Person	Keith Turner (Guest of HP Sponsor)	17 th man	-