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Damage prevents three races
AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- Damage to three yachts forced the postponement of three Louis Vuitton Cup races on Tuesday, adding more pressure to round robin two of the challenger series. Team Dennis Conner called a halt shortly before the start of its race against Oracle BMW Racing on Tuesday, after being damaged during an earlier loss against Swedish Victory. Eight races were scheduled for Tuesday after four days of bad weather had forced the cancellation of racing. The International Jury had allowed race organisers to run two sets of races a day to get the round back on track.
After successfully completing four short-course matches in fresh southwesterly winds on Tuesday morning, only one race was held in the afternoon. Italian cup holder Prada beat French Le Defi Areva by 1 minute 4 seconds, Swiss Alinghi beat the second Italian team, Mascalzone Latino, by 2 minutes, 11 seconds, and U.S. OneWorld beat Britain's Wight Lightning by 1 minute, 5 seconds. Victory also won its afternoon match against Mascalzone Latino by 1 minute 17 seconds. Prada suffered unspecified damage and Le Defi Areva broke a jumper strut, preventing both of them from racing in the afternoon. Team Dennis Conner reported damage to Stars & Stripes just before the starting sequence with Oracle BMW Racing. An umpire and chief measurer Ken McAlpine inspected the problem, which appeared to be to the port-side genoa car system. The race was abandoned as Team Dennis Conner said the damage could not be repaired before the 4 p.m. local time deadline for starting the race. Oracle BMW Racing, which was prepared to race after 4 p.m., lodged a protest immediately after Team Dennis Conner's announcement. The wins for Alinghi OneWorld keep them at the top of the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger table. The Swiss and Seattle syndicates both have 10 wins from 11 races but OneWorld trails by one point due to a point deduction for a pre-regatta rules violation. Notable about Tuesday's crew list on Oracle BMW Racing was that syndicate boss, Larry Ellison, was not taking his usual place on board. Chris Dickson, the new skipper, was listed as tactician, while former skipper Peter Holmberg was back on the helm. A team spokesperson said Ellison would watch the race from his superyacht, Katana. "We have always had a policy of rotating crew and Mr Ellison is not part of the team today," the spokesperson said. Weather permitting the race commitee will run two sets of races on Wednesday on the shorter 12.5 mile course. The three unsailed races from Tuesday will be held over until the scheduled races in the second round robin are completed. The first race on Wednesday is an all-Italian match with Mascalzone Latino racing Prada, Victory Challenge race against Oracle BMW Racing, Team Dennis Conner up against OneWorld and GBR versus Alinghi. Le Defi Areva has a bye. The second round of the day will see Mascalzone Latino race GBR, Prada against Victory, OneWorld against Oracle BMW Racing and Stars & Stripes against Le Defi Areva. Alinghi have the bye.
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