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Double win puts Oracle second

Italy's Mascalzone Latino was eliminated from the LV Cup

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AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- Oracle BMW Racing leapt up the Louis Vuitton rankings to end round robin two in second place after winning its final two races.

The round ended on Sunday, with the Swiss Alinghi topping the eight teams who go through to the quarterfinals. Italian team Mascalzone Latino was the first team to be eliminated from the challenger series.

Both Alinghi and Victory, as leaders of their groups, are allowed to choose their opponents for the quarterfinals. They are expected to announce their decisions on Monday.

PHOTO GALLERY Action from round robin two  of the Louis Vuitton Cup AMERICA'S CUP • LVC results  • Race calendar  • Skippers  • Team profiles  • Panoramic gallery  • Louis Vuitton Cup timeline  • Louis Vuitton Cup format  Team R W L Points Alinghi** 15 13 2 13 Oracle 16 12 4 12 OneWorld* 16 13 3 12 Prada 15 10 5 10 Victory 16 7 9 7 GBR Challenge 16 7 9 7 Stars & Stripes 16 6 10 6 Le Defi Areva 16 2 14 2 Mascalzone Latino 16 1 15 1 Each win worth one point; One team to be eliminated after two round-robins * = OneWorld previously deducted one point by arbitration panel ** = Alinghi's total has been reduced by one point over protest by GBR

Oracle, skippered by Chris Dickson and Peter Holmberg, sailed to victory in 14 to 20 knot southerlies against bottom-ranked French team Le Defi Areva and later Sweden's Victory.

Oracle lead Le Defi Areva around every mark, crossing the line one minute seven seconds ahead.

Le Defi Areva's victory over Mascalzone Latino on Saturday had knocked out the first-time syndicate. The two teams had been tied with one point each going into the last match of round robin two and knew the match would determine which team progressed to the quarterfinals.

In Sunday's second race, Oracle was heading for a comfortable win when the spinnaker pole broke as the spinnaker was being hoisted. A splint was applied and the sail was up in less than four minutes.

They won the race by 43 seconds.

The double victory was Oracle BMW Racing's sixth and seventh consecutive wins in the round and moved the San Francisco-based team from third to second place.

Alinghi team will be the top seed going into the quarterfinals after it beat Sweden's Victory by 29 seconds and Britain's GBR by 1 minute 26 seconds on Saturday.

Seattle-based OneWorld beat Prada by 54 seconds and then defeated Stars & Stripes by one minute 19 seconds.

Alinghi and OneWorld both have 13 wins but the arbitration panel stripped OneWorld of a competition point for a pre-regatta rules violation.

The winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup will challenge Team New Zealand for the America's Cup next February.

Racing resumes on November 12.

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