SAN FRANCISCO — Perfect conditions and a pair of completed races finally showed what most had long expected in the Louis Vuitton Cup finals: the Team New Zealand is dominating the competition. Skipper Dean Barker and Emirates Team New Zealand sailed two near-flawless races Wednesday, overpowering Italy's Luna Rossa to take a 4-1 lead in the finals of the America's Cup challenger series. “It's fantastic ... That's what the crowds have come to see — two boats finishing two races and San Francisco at its best,” Team New Zealand tactician Ray Davies said. “Good, close racing there at times. It was always going to be hard to keep the racing close. But we saw some glimpses of that.” Brief glimpses, anyway. In the first races of the series without a mechanical failure, Emirates looked every bit like the boat to beat on sparkling San Francisco Bay. Barker guided his crew ahead by the first mark both times, leaving the Luna Rossa crew and its silver sailing gear glistening from behind the rest of the way. The New Zealand entry won the first race by 2 minutes, 18 seconds and the second race by 1:28. One race is planned for Friday, previously a scheduled day off. The winner of the best-of-13 series will face defending champion Oracle Team USA in the 34th America's Cup starting Sept. 7. And just about everybody thinks Team New Zealand will advance. “We believe, and I think everyone understands, that we believe that we have a slower boat than them,” Luna Rossa skipper Max Sirena said. “And to beat them, we have to do everything 200 percent better and they probably need to make some mistakes.” Just completing real races was a major success for the troubled regatta. Only one boat finished the first three races of the challenger finals. And officials had to call off the second race each of the first three days because of wind that exceeded the safety limit. With lighter wind and a blue sky, the latest competitions ended almost before they began. The Kiwis went 5-0 against the Italians in the round-robins, including the opener that Luna Rossa boycotted because of a rules spat. The Kiwis twice beat the Italians by more than 5 minutes, and the closest margin was 2:19. The current course is three legs shorter than the one used during the round-robins. But at this point, the difference between the two boats — when operational — remains the same. “If we go out and sail the best we can, we feel pretty good about things. We know our boat's good, it's pretty quick. We knew our crew is slick,” Team New Zealand grinder Chris McAsey said. “If we're on our ‘A' game, we're pretty confident for sure.” — AP
