Monkey off Oracle's back

By JULIE ASH

Chris Dickson couldn't hold back a smile yesterday as his Oracle BMW Racing team crossed the line and picked up their first win over Alinghi in the challenger series final.

In light and extremely shifty conditions Oracle pulled off an emphatic 2m 13s win over their Swiss rivals.

Alinghi now lead the series 3-1.

"We are glad we got the point in what were very fluky conditions," said Oracle navigator Ian Burns.

"It was like we got a monkey off our back today."

While wind shifts, a broken spinnaker pole and a collision all went against Oracle in the first three races, yesterday lady luck was on their side.

After securing the favoured left-hand side at the start it appeared Oracle had failed to spot a right-hand shift which pushed the Swiss out to a handy advantage and around the first mark well ahead.

Dickson gained separation around the top mark by gybing immediately.

Alinghi failed to cover as they were on a favourable angle to the mark.

The breeze then moved to the right and the Americans went from being over 300m behind to being in front.

From there on Dickson's crew seemed to land the better breeze and coasted to an easy but extremely important victory.

"We have had different weather which has been a bit lighter and a bit flatter, which has been to our advantage," said Burns.

For the second day in a row Dickson has left the helm to Peter Holmberg and concentrated on calling tactics.

"Chris brings a lot to the decision-making process,' said Burns.

"Peter Holmberg does a beautiful job at the helm in a lot of the wind shifts and Chris handles the boat well in those same situations.

"It is a good combination but sometimes in tricky conditions Chris likes to take the helm."

For Alinghi the loss would have been disappointing.

Immediately after the race key members of the team including skipper Russell Coutts, tactician Brad Butterworth and syndicate head and navigator Ernesto Bertarelli were taken from the boat on a chase boat back to the base.

"When we came to the top mark we were aiming for the bottom mark and were pretty confident about carrying on," said Butterworth.

"They gybed and kept on going and probably we should have gybed, but we didn't because we thought we could have rolled on down there.

"We were in light air and they came in reaching.

"The damage was done on the next leg when we failed to make on a couple of opportunities."

It was just Alinghi's third loss in the challenger series.

Not only was it their most lopsided loss of this series, it was also Coutts' biggest losing margin in 40 Louis Vuitton Cup races dating back to 1992 in San Diego.

"I think you are seeing the final of the Louis Vuitton Cup," said Butterworth.

"These are two good teams that have come through the championship and both are improving all the time.

"I think Oracle have a lot of potential and we always knew they would be a tough team to beat. But I relish that."

Race five in the series is scheduled for today.

Organisers have predicted similar light and shift conditions.

Mark by mark

START: After a two-hour delay, once again because of light winds, racing started just after 3.20pm. With the pin end the favoured side, it was Peter Holmberg and Oracle who secured the position and burst over the line first, with Alinghi positioned on their hip.

Margin: Oracle by 1s.

MARK ONE: Forced to tack away after the start, Alinghi headed out to the right and in typical Russell Coutts and Brad Butterworth style secured the first shift of the match. The shift handed the Swiss an early advantage but, in a day where the Hauraki Gulf could only be described as a "minefield", Oracle, too, had their moments in the breeze which kept them in the game.

Margin: Alinghi by 38s.

MARK TWO: Dickson gained separation around the top mark by gybing straight away. Alinghi failed to cover as they were on a favourable angle. But it was the Americans who secured the better breeze and pressure, and went from more than 300m behind to taking the lead.

Margin: Oracle by 56s.

MARK THREE: Being so far behind and in so little breeze, there was little the Swiss could do to close the gap on the second upwind leg. Oracle maintained their lead up the second run to round the mark easily ahead.

Margin: Oracle by 57s.

MARK FOUR: Looking comfortable in the light conditions, Oracle extended their lead to more than 500m during the second downwind leg.

Margin: Oracle by 2m 34s.

MARK FIVE: Little changed on the last upwind leg as Oracle continued their winning run. The distance between the two varied between 500m and 600m.

Margin: Oracle by 2m 13s.

MARK SIX: Game over. A convincing win to Oracle - just their second over Alinghi in the entire challenger series.

Margin: Oracle by 2m 13s.

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