SAN FRANCISCO — Team New Zealand overcame the loss of its jib early in the race before routing Italy's Luna Rossa Sunday in just their second head-to-head matchup in the America's Cup challenger series. The Kiwis beat Luna Rossa by 2 minutes, 19 seconds and lead 6-3 in the Louis Vuitton Cup round-robins. The team with the most points after five round-robins advances to the Louis Vuitton Cup finals, which will determine the opponent for defending champion Oracle Team USA in the 34th America's Cup match starting Sept. 7. With the New Zealand team leading on the third of seven legs, a clip failed at the head of the jib that holds it to the headstay and it started flapping. It took the crew almost three minutes to detach the sail from the headstay and pitch it overboard. Their chase boat moved in to retrieve the sail, forcing the Italians to tack away. Skipper Dean Barker and his crew continued on, their 72-foot, high -performance catamaran powered only by the 131-foot wing sail. “It's one of those frustrating, annoying things,” Barker said. — AP
