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KEY POINTS:
"We could not dream of a better final," Bruno Trouble, organiser of the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series proclaimed yesterday afternoon, once it was clear BMWOracle had won through to face Alinghi in the challenger final.
If Trouble was happy with the match-up, he must have felt as if
all his Christmases had come at once with the heart-stopping finish to the opening race of the the best-of-three series.
Alinghi snatched a stunning one second win right on the finish line to take a 1-nil lead in the series after Oracle made a costly mistake in the final downwind leg.
The electrifying opening duel sets up a thrilling conclusion to the series today, with organisers pushing the start-time forward in the hope of completing the races before forecast high winds set in.
After leading all the way around the course, the American boat, skippered by Russell Coutts, applied a very loose cover in the final run home, allowing Alinghi, with Ed Baird at the helm, to sail towards the favoured end of the finish line.
Oracle, who held a lead of two boat-lengths at the top mark, headed towards the pin end of the line, but it became apparent as the boats closed in on the line that Alinghi had the positioning. Baird said Oracle's decision not to gybe over the top of them was a critical mistake.
"They could have crossed us, but they didn't, all we can try to do is finish as soon as we can," said Baird.
"We were definitely fortunate benefactors of their mistake."
For BMWOracle tactician Hamish Pepper, it was a difficult way to lose after his team sailed well for 95 per cent of the race but he said they are remaining upbeat.
"We shouldn't get our heads down too much about it," said Pepper.
"We face the same scenario as we did today, we just have to go out there and win two races."
BMWOracle won their way through to the Challenger final with a 35 second win over surprise semifinalists Damiani Italia. The loss brought to an end the crafty Italians' remarkable run through the regatta, with skipper Vasco Vascotto and helmsman Francesco Bruni claiming some impressive scalps during the series.
Earlier in the day the Italians knocked off Team Origin in the quarter-finals, after pulling off a Houdini-like escape in the pre-start.
With 30 seconds to go before the starting gun, Ben Ainslie looked to have the Italians pinned in the startbox, but Damiani Italia managed to unhook themselves and get the advantage off the line, controlling the race from there.
Although Damiani Italia went on to lose to Oracle in the semifinal, Vascotto was thrilled with his team's showing in the series. "I think that this is a fantastic day for us, we learn during this period more than we have in 20 years of sailing."
BMWOracle's place in the semifinals was secured with a thrilling win over Luna Rossa earlier in the day, with Coutts executing a perfect penalty turn to hold off Peter Holmberg.
FINALS RESULTS
Quarter-final 1: Damiani Italia bt Team Origin (29s)
Quarter-final 2: BMWOracle bt Luna Rossa (09s)
Semifinal: BMWOracle bt Damiani Italia (35s)
Challenger final
Race 1 (of 3) Alinghi bt BMWOracle (01s)
Today's scheduled races
Challenge final races 2 & 3
Alinghi v BMWOracle