America's Cup: Team New Zealand impress in dominant morning

Emirates Team New Zealand (right). Photo / AP.

Is this the day America's Cup momentum shifted towards Emirates Team New Zealand?

The Kiwis completed dominant wins against Dean Barker's Team Japan and Team France in good conditions on the penultimate day of the America's Cup qualifying round robins in Bermuda.

Those wins - by 51 seconds and more than four minutes respectively - coupled with Oracle Team USA's second loss against Swedish syndicate Artemis, mean Team NZ top the standings going into the final day of round robin racing.

Team NZ have eight points from a possible nine, with Oracle a point back.

Although Team NZ has only one race tomorrow and Oracle two, crucially, the first race of the day pits those syndicate against each other.

If Team NZ wins, they'll top the table and take a bonus point into the final America's Cup race, should they get there.

Team NZ's only defeat in Bermuda so far was to Oracle. Victory tomorrow could be a crucial mental blow as the Kiwis seek a first win over the Jimmy Spithill-skippered American syndicate since their collapse in the 2013 America's Cup in San Francisco.

Team NZ's victory against France saw the latter eliminated. It was achieved with the black boat securing 100 per cent flight time - the time the boat spent on the foils. That perfect figure topped the 99.6 per cent flight time against Team Japan.

In the final race of the day, Artemis completed a double of their own, and compounded Barker's disappointment, with an 18-second victory.