Pre-race speculation had all eyes on Alinghi and Oracle as the favorites, with Prada, Stars & Stripes, OneWorld as possible contenders. Now that all nine have raced each other once in Round Robin 1, all eyes are on Oneworld, as she was the only boat to go undefeated. Because of the one point penalty she was assessed by the arbitration panel, this puts her in a tie with Alinghi at the top of the leader board with eight points heading into Round Robin 2.
Instead of being a distraction, that one point penalty may have helped focus the team for such an outstanding effort in RR1. They came in prepared and ready to race from the opening gun, with their own young gun, 23-year-old James Spithill at the helm and Peter Gilmour at his side. Together, with tactician Charlie McKee, and precision crew work, they guided OneWorld to convincing victories in all their races. In fact, Gilmour had such confidence in Spithall, his afterguard and crew, that he sat out the race with the French boat, Le Defi.
Everyone huddled around their sets for OLN's coverage of OneWorld's meetings with the prerace favorites, Alinghi and Oracle. Two time America's Cup winner Russell Couts and Alinghi lived up to their billing with agressive tactics and good boatspeed, but Spithill had a brilliant start and stubbornly defended against an attacking Alinghi, giving OneWorld the victory by a mere 10 seconds in one of the most exciting matches of RR1.
The first race between OneWorld and Oracle was never finished. OneWorld won the start but the race was abandoned because of a lack of wind. The start of the rematch was a heart stopper. With OneWorld clearly in control, Oracle's Peter Holmberg spun around the start mark, passing through a space between OneWorld and the mark not much wider than the boat and momentarily took control. OneWorld was able to escape and start with speed at the mark end while Oracle had to tack
before getting up to speed, making them slow off the committee boat end of the line. At the first cross, OneWorld crossed about a length and a half ahead of Oracle, and easily controlled the match from then on, gaining time on every leg.
So, after RR1, OneWorld has made up their point penalty and looks strong and ready for RR2. With only one loss in RR1, Alinghi is also on top and still a favorite. Oracle, however, lost her last three races of RR1 and looks like she'll need to make some adjustments. She seems to have a narrow performance range with her top performance coming at the higher wind ranges for racing. She doesn't seem as quick in the lighter wind ranges and observers think she's a bit "sticky" downwind.
The GBR Challenge came on strong in the later races of RR1, pulling off an impressive victory against Oracle. Look for her to keep improving through RR2. Likewise with Sweden's Victory Challenge. On the verge of being in the upper echelon, she'll be fighting for one of those top four spots in the next round.
Stars & Stripes, Team Dennis Connor, will also be in the hunt but we'll see what modifications they do with the boat. Their second boat has a new front end and has been testing. We'll see whether the off week changes between RR1 and RR2 will improve their speed.
A pre-race favorite, Prada has proved to be the biggest disappointment. Expect major changes in her boats as they head to the shop. They can make up to 50% changes in their hull without it being considered a new boat, so we'll see what happens without fired designer Doug Peterson's input.
Macalzone Latino and Le Defi Areva are way off the pace, one of which will be eliminated in RR2.
RR2 started October 21. After this round, the top four boats will be grouped together, the bottom four will be grouped, with one boat eliminated. Points from RR1 will carry over into RR2. Current standings after RR1:
| Pts | Boat | Record |
| 7 | OneWorld | 8-0 |
| 7 | Alinghi | 7-1 |
| 5 | Oracle/BMW | 5-3 |
| 4 | GBR Challenge | 4-4 |
| 4 | Team Dennis Connor | 4-4 |
| 4 | Prada | 4-4 |
| 3 | Victory Challenge | 3-5 |
| 1 | Mascalzone Latino | 1-7 |
| 0* | Le Defi Areva | 0-8 |
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*Reflects 1 point penalty.
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The America's Cup, first awarded to its namesake, the schooner America, in the mid-19th century, is now the most sought-after trophy in sailboat racing.
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The America's Cup
OneWorld crosses the line 10 seconds ahead of Alinghi in battle of the unbeatens.
Photo by Sharon Green...
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Read interview with...
Charlie McKee - Tactician
Read interview with...
Mark Newbrook - Grinder
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