America's Cup: Sir Ben Ainslie taps out, as Team NZ almost lap BAR

Land Rover BAR crash and burn in the America's Cup challenger series off Bermuda. Photo/America's Cup

In light winds that made foiling difficult for most teams, Team New Zealand have crushed Ben Ainslie Racing for their sixth win of the America's Cup defender series off Bermuda.

The Kiwis seemed to handle the conditions better than most and almost lapped the hapless British, who started the day as Emirates Team New Zealand's closest defender rivals.

Over a shortened course, helmsman Peter Burling had finished almost two legs ahead, when Sir Ben Ainslie officially retired from the race - the first withdrawal this week - to save his troops for another outing against France later in the day.

BAR actually had the better of the start and held a slight advantage at the first mark, but completely lost their poise, as they gybed out of the turn and simply watched their opponents disappear into the distance.

"They're absolutely killing us," cried Sir Ben, as he watched his hopes of victory slip away.

Back home in Auckland, NZME America's Cup expert and former Team NZ weather guru Mark Orams was worried about the result.

"This was a real statement," he observed. "But how many of their cards have they laid on the table?

"Have they played them all today?"

Already safely through to next week's defender semifinals, TNZ are edging closer to securing the top qualifying spot, a point clear of BAR, who have just two remaining and a countback advantage from their America's Cup World Series win.

Meanwhile, America's Cup holders Oracle Team USA needed a magnificent mid-race recovery to overhaul Japan for their sixth win, remaining a point clear of Team NZ in the race for the qualifying bonus point.

In a rematch of 2013 America;s Cup rivals, former TNZ skipper Dean Barker had his AC50 boat 22 seconds clear at the fourth mark, after forcing USA counterpart Jimmy Spithill into a pre-start error and two boat-length penalty.

But the Americans found a gust of breeze down the fifth leg, turning that deficit into a 35-second advantage by the next mark and, ultimately, a 32-second win.

First up today, Barker and Team Japan took an important step towards avoiding extinction, with a comprehensive win over France.

Both teams began the day tied with Team Sweden for last place in the six-boat fleet, with the bottom team doomed to elimination after this weekend. Wins are vital, but victories over any of those other rivals are doubly so at this stage of the regatta.

Racing on the lay day, after light conditions caused the postponement of yesterday's schedule, both boats struggled to foil in conditions that were still at the lower end of the wind scale.

Barker seized an advantage over French rival Franck Cammas at the start of their opening race of the day and extended that margin over every leg. At times, France, which came late to the America's Cup party and have often surprised with their competitiveness this week, seemed almost becalmed today.

Japan eventually finished almost six minutes clear for their third win to edge clear of the elimination threat.

"It was definitely testing," said Barker afterwards. "It wasn't quite what we were expecting when we left the dock this morning, but you have to deal with what's out here.

"The guys did a fantastic job getting the boat around the course in good shape.

"We know that days like today are what we can expect here as June progresses and you've got be able to race well in all of it, so it's adapting to the conditions and dealing with what you've got."

France suffered another loss to BAR in the final race of the day, a backwards-and-forwards affair that saw both teams in control at various stages, only to lose their grip in fickle conditions.

Cammas led late down the final leg of the shortened journey, but Sir Ben gained starboard advantage off the final tack and parlayed that into a 23-second victory.

Schedule today
Team Japan beat Team France by five min 59 secs
Team New Zealand beat Team BAR by submission
Oracle Team USA beat Team Japan by 32 secs
Team BAR beat Team France by 23 secs

Standings
Oracle Team USA 7pts
Emirates Team NZ 6pts
Land Rover BAR (GBR) 5pts
Softbank Team Japan 3pts
Artemis Racing (Sweden) 2pts
Groupama Team France 2pts