SAN FRANCISCO, California — Italy's Luna Rossa beat Sweden's Artemis Friday to move within one victory of advancing to a showdown with mighty Team New Zealand in the America's Cup challenger series finals. Luna Rossa has won all three semifinal races over Artemis Racing, which made a belated entry into the venerable sailing event after the May training accident that destroyed their first AC72 catamaran and killed British crew member Andrew Simpson. Luna Rossa looked sharp, taking the lead with a perfect start and completing the seven-leg course in 47 minutes and 36 seconds — one minute and 18 seconds ahead of Artemis. The winner of the challenger series will race against defender Oracle Team USA in the America's Cup finals that start on September 7. Meanwhile, America's Cup champion Oracle Team USA has forfeited its championships from the first two seasons of the America's Cup World Series — a lead-up to the main event — after it was determined that its yachts were modified without the permission of the Measurement Committee. Syndicate CEO Russell Coutts, a four-time America's Cup winner, called the violations — adding about five pounds of extra ballast to each boat — a “ridiculous” mistake that didn't affect the boats' performance but warranted punishment. — Agencies
