Team NZ 1 - 0 Oracle USA
6.22am: Stay tuned for highlights and race reports from a stunning day for Team New Zealand.
TEAM NEW ZEALAND WIN RACE TWO - What a start by Peter Burling and Team New Zealand! That's two wins from two! The second race was won by a whopping one minute 28 seconds.
- Team NZ do their talking on the water
- The perfect start for Team NZ
- Why New Zealand must host the next America's Cup
22mins: To give you perspective - that error by Oracle cost them 350m! Team New Zealand just round gate six and are on the final leg.
21mins: Oracle came to within a metre of Team NZ! But then a bad gybe by Oracle hands the lead back to the Kiwis. A very costly error there.
20mins: After all that hard work from Oracle, Team New Zealand shoot out to a 400m lead again! How this changes!
19mins: There's a protest by Oracle after there appeared to be an overlap but it's turned down. Team New Zealand hold the lead but it's narrowed a lot here. All of a sudden Team NZ shoot up to 20 knots while Oracle drop to 7 knots. Wow that was close.
17mins: Tom Slingsby's hanging off the front of the boat with an instrument in his hand trying to figure out what's going wrong and how they can narrow the gap. It's effective too and they gain a lot on Team New Zealand. Wow this just changed
16mins: Team NZ have slowed a little bit as they're forced into a windshift. While it's not a perfect windshift, Team NZ maintain their lead as now Oracle are forced into a windshift.
14mins: The Team NZ lead is still very big - 600 metres plus and they're cruising. Barring anything going astronomically wrong, they're staring down the barrel of a perfect day.
13mins: There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with Oracle but they're looking anything but comfortable with Jimmy Spithill not removing his hands from the wheel on the boat - not a great sign.
13mins: Team NZ round gate four and are on their way. They need to keep this up because Oracle aren't going away but this is dominant by the New Zealanders.
11mins: Team NZ's boat foils are really showing the difference here. Peter Burling's tactics have been spot on and Blair Tuke is making really good decisions. A massive lead on the fourth leg coming up to gate four and there's a 12 knot difference in the speeds! The communications on the Team NZ boat is short, sharp and to the point and it's working very well.
9mins: Team NZ want nothing to do with Oracle at this stage, they've stayed clear and it's done them a great service. Oracle just round gate three and they're in trouble in this race.
8mins: A big lead for Team NZ heading into gate three and their speed is almost 10 knots faster than Oracle. Great tactics by Burling so far and they're awarded with almost a 500m lead.
7mins: Team NZ is just outstripping Oracle in pure boat speed. All the numbers are in New Zealand's favour. Burling having a dream run at the moment. I just head on the radio one of Oracle's men say they need to sail a bit faster - great observation.
6mins: Team NZ is absolutely bossing it and while the race isn't over yet, the Kiwis don't look like they're giving Oracle any room to get back into the race.
4mins: Oracle can't yet make any room on Team NZ and there's a 6-7 knot difference in the speed of the boats. Team NZ's speed drops but they're quick to regain the pace. A few knots higher in speed and about a 200m lead.
2mins: Team NZ open up another healthy lead as their faster boat really seems to make the difference. Looking at about 150m and a five knot difference. Burling and Team NZ really doing a job at the moment and they're tearing up the second leg. Oracle just struggling to find their pace.
1mins: Burling's Team NZ is two from two at the starts, brilliant work by the Kiwi and Team NZ take a lead into gate one. About a 3kn difference at the moment, Team NZ on 31 and Oracle about 28. About an 80m difference at the moment
START: Both teams shadowed each other in the box and Spithill pushed them down to the lay line - some very aggressive tactics just before the start line. Both teams start all clear and Team NZ accelerate just that little bit quicker.
5.55am: Here we come for race two as the teams get set to get underway again. Looks like the start will be where the race is won and lost. Both groups come into the second race unchanged. Just over two minutes to start. Team NZ with first entry into the box.
RACE ONE RECAP - Oracle looked a little too keen to get a fast start and it cost them dearly after Spithill's men were penalised for breaching the start line before the allotted time. This gave Team NZ an enforced two boat-length lead but the jump allowed them a lead of a lot bigger.
From then, it was clear and smooth for Team NZ despite some interesting race tactics in the sixth leg which sought to slow Team NZ down coming back through the course. With the wind dropping down significantly toward the end of the race, Team NZ could have given Oracle a chance to make ground but the job was done. Race two before 6am (NZT).
5.40am: Don't go anywhere folks, race two coming up in a short while.
TEAM NEW ZEALAND WIN RACE ONE - Well what a start by the underdogs! A 30 second win after they never looked like being threatened from the starting line. Oracle were penalised after a sloppy start by Spithill's men and it's all square.
22mins: Peter Burling just said on his mic that he's "struggling to lay" but the boat picks up speed again and Team NZ register a comprehensive win!
21mins: It's the last leg of the race and barring anything significant, Team NZ are going to canter through to the finish line. Team NZ have hit light air and come off the foils which gives Oracle a chance to catch up but not sure it's enough.
18mins: In the last few minutes, the breeze has dropped significantly and Oracle aren't even foiling at the moment. They slowed down and circled in the sixth leg of the course to try and slow down Team NZ coming back through but it hasn't done anything and Team NZ have bolted.
17mins: Oracle can't make any ground on Team NZ and they're doing very well to maintain the lead which is out to about 400m. It's been without a hiccup so far for Team NZ.
13mins: Team NZ have let up and may have given Oracle a window to get back into the race here. However they do still have a lot of ground to make up. They're chasing the breeze and exploring the course to do so.
12mins: It's actually really hard to get an idea of how the boats are comparing as they've been so far a part the whole race. Team NZ with a very good lead at the moment.
11mins: Oracle get a bit of wind assistance rounding the gate but they again fall behind in pace to Team NZ. The opening penalty could be very costly to Oracle and Team NZ have not let up. Maintaining a very healthy lead here.
9mins: Team NZ rounds gate three and they hold a very healthy lead. They head down wind again as the cyclists get into their work. Peter Burling looks like iceman out there - like he's on a Sunday drive.
8mins: The boats have very different systems with Oracle using the traditional grinder system while Team NZ has the cycling and it's paying dividends at the moment. The underdogs maintain about a two knot speed difference.
5mins: Both teams approach gate number three and Team NZ still leading. A few parts of their boat such as the foils and the grinder system coming to the fray. Team NZ lead stretches out to about 270m as they're cruising at about 24kn as opposed to Oracle's 24kn. 280m lead now.
3mins: New Zealand head around the gate two as they hold a handy lead by about 160m. The average wind speed has dulled to around 9 knots but Team New Zealand have a good couple of knots speed ahead of Oracle.
1min: Team New Zealand ahead by about 190m as Oracle cruise across to the other side of the course. New Zealand going at about 27 kn in comparison to Oracle's 25.
START: And there's a penalty straight off the bat after Jimmy Spithill's Oracle breached the start line before the starting point. That gives Team NZ a two boat-length advantage at least - what a start for Burling, Ashby and their men.
5.15am: Team Oracle enter the starting box a little before Team NZ as the teams shadow each other. Looking like it's going to be a very aggressive start from Spithill's Oracle.
5.13am: Just over three minutes until the start and the average wind speed looks to be about 6.2-6.3 knots. Two teams just preparing themselves for the start.
5.10am: A lot of Kiwi support around America's Cup village but there are, as you can probably imaging, a lot of American flags and a lot of Oracle supporters. Can't wait to see what unveils here. You can cut the tension with a knife.
5.05am: Kia ora and welcome to the live updates of the America's Cup. It's a stunning day in Bermuda with perfect winds for foiling, around 8-12 knots, south-southeasterly.
We'll be bringing you the action as we see it, as it happens live. Race one. is set to kick off in a couple of minutes. Oracle USA start a point ahead due to being winners last time out.
Hello and welcome to live updates of day one of the America's Cup match between defenders Oracle Team USA and our very own Team New Zealand in Bermuda.
We have two races slated for the morning, with the Kiwis looking to promptly erase the one win deficit incurred after Oracle's victory in the Louis Vuitton challenger round-robin.
The Kiwis overcame some early speed-bumps to close out their challenger series win over Swedish boat Artemis, and helmsman Peter Burling will be looking to ride that momentum to an early advantage over the infamous Jimmy Spithill.
We bring you live streaming written commentary, video highlights, and all the action. VIDEO of the racing will be available at the conclusion of the day's action.
America's Cup – day one
Race one – 5:12am (NZT)
Race two – 5:57am (NZT)
Pre-race banter
Burling holds his own as presser aggressor
By Melissa Davies
Oracle skipper Jimmy Spithill knows how to grab the headlines and he loves nothing more than raising a Kiwi's hackles - but don't let that detract from Peter Burling's performance under the curly questions.
It seems the 26 year old is just as comfortable with playing some mind games of his own - and that's something the Oracle camp might not have expected.
Reason being - usually it's the job of the team skipper to participate in press conferences 'pressers'.
If that rule had held through to this America's Cup that job would have gone to Glenn Ashby in the New Zealand team.
Now if you think you've seen good banter at a press conference - you haven't seen nothing until you've seen Ashby and Spithill up against each other.
I was at one in Portsmouth, England for the America's Cup World Series when Ashby jokingly presented Spithill with a king post - a boat part that Oracle was found to have illegally modified in the 2012-13 series.
It's very rare to see Spithill outdone in the banter stakes and for him, this was dangerously close to that line.
One way to avoid sitting next to Ashby at the press conferences was to change the rule so that the helmsman would have to do the press conference instead of the skipper - meaning Peter Burling would go up against Spithill (who is both skipper and helmsman).
Of course, it's not clear why Oracle changed the rule and whether the Ashby incident had anything to do with it - but whatever the thinking - Peter Burling has stepped up to the plate.
When asked today whether it mattered that Oracle go into the Cup racing with a bonus point - Burling fired his own shot at psychological warfare referring to the two points Oracle was docked in the last America's Cup as punishment for their previous illegal modifications.
"It didn't seem to matter who went into last cup a couple of points down, don't think it will matter this time around. It's all about who wins the last race and not the first one," said Burling.
And when most questions were being sent Spithill's way - Burling replied when it finally came his turn "Oh, it's good to get a question in."
There will be lots more questions as the racing finally gets underway this weekend - and how they handle themselves off the water might be just as important to the psyche of the team as what they do on the water.
Melissa Davies is Newshub's America's Cup correspondent in Bermuda
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