Yachting: Another win for Team NZ

Team New Zealand in action during the Louis Vuitton Trophy regatta. Chris Cameron / ETNZ

Team New Zealand have strengthened their hold on second place in the Louis Vuitton Trophy regatta off Dubai after notching a comfortable win over Italy's Mascalzone Latino overnight (NZT).

The Dean Barker-skipped boat claimed two more points to climb to 8.5 on the standings, still well adrift of United State leaders Oracle.

Team New Zealand led all the way against their last-placed opponents in a race sailed in fading light and fading, shifty breeze.

Picking the wind shifts well, they were nine seconds up by the first mark, 11sec clearby the second and kept that buffer to the finish line, where they crossed 10sec ahead.

Standings after seven days: BMWOracle (USA) 13pts 1, Team New Zealand 8.5 2, All4ONE (France/Germany) 6 3, Artemis (Sweden) 5 4, Synergy (Russia) 4 5, Mascalzone Latino (Italy) 4 6

- NZPA