Both INEOS Team UK and Luna Rossa Prada Perilli still hope to finish atop the America's Cup challenger series this weekend and book themselves a spot in the final.
With American Magic seemingly shorebound after their spectacular crash last Sunday, both remaining teams will likely take two points each from their scheduled races against the New York Yacht Club entry.
After their hot start to the Prada Cup, unbeaten Team UK are just one additional win away from wrapping up top spot and an automatic place in the final series, while Luna Rossa could still draw level by winning both remaining races against the Brits.
If both sides finish tied on six wins, the Italians would progress as winners of the final head-to-head encounter, which is the tiebreaker rule, so both have plenty to race for, despite the Amercians' absence.
Team UK skipper Sir Ben Ainslie knows the importance of finishing top of the table, as it will give them much-needed time to further improve their boat, which has already come a long way since last month's world series debacle.
Team UK were dead in the water in the pre-Christmas campaign, but three weeks later, they came out of the sheds on fire to sweep their first four races.
"It buys you time and, as we all know, time in this game is everything and the flexibility to make upgrades to the boat," says Sir Ben.
"Some upgrades you make might be an overnight job, some might take 2-3 days, so it buys you the flexibility to change a few things you wouldn't otherwise. It's going to be significant in the outcome of this Cup."
Luna Rossa helmsmen Jimmy Spithill acknowledges the significant advantage to progressing straight to the final, but is just trying to keep the focus on the next race.
"We aren't spending too much time on that," Spithill says. "We are really focused on Saturday.
"We don't need to look too far into the future, all we need to do as a team is get out there and have a great race."
Join us at 4pm Saturday for live updates of America's Cup challenger racing
