A $200m question: Can Oracle ever beat Alinghi?

The wheels may be falling off the America's Cup bid by Oracle BMW Racing, bankrolled by billionaire Larry Ellison to the tune of nearly $200 million.

It is becoming clear that Ellison would like to get a little closer to Team Alinghi than his yacht has managed in the first races of the challenger finals.

Alinghi has eased to two clear wins in the first races of the Louis Vuitton challenger finals to decide who will race Team NZ for the America's Cup next month.

The battle of the two Kiwi-skippered teams now firmly favours the Swiss and Russell Coutts, who has beaten rival Chris Dickson six times in a row for Alinghi's 7-1 winning record.

In yesterday's loss, Ellison rode as a guest on Oracle's boat while Dickson battled to overcome a lack of upwind power as he tried to take a race off Alinghi.

Oracle blew any chance of a win when they dropped their spinnaker in the water early in the race, but Ellison could not have been too pleased either with Coutts' thoughts after the race.

He said he doubted Oracle would have won anyway.

"It would have been a longshot."

Oracle have a day to turn around their fortunes and somehow eclipse Alinghi's upwind power.

The boats meet for their third cup final clash tomorrow with the first team to win five races taking the Louis Vuitton Cup.

nzherald.co.nz/americascup

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