The pressure is on. Already. The three American teams and the 1/2 kiwi, 1/2 Swiss teams all won their opening matches. Sounds trivial. But since three of the favorites are already there, it pits Luna Rossa against Stars&Stripes propelled by Dennis Conner fame for the fourth spot.

The first races saw few surprises. One World & Alinghi showed why they are among the favoured with wins of 5 & 6 minutes over also-rans Le défi & Mascalzone.

GBR Challenge, Wight Lightning, had a nice tight race against Stars & Stripes. either the first boat is superior to expectations or Star&Stripes is weaker. The next races will tell.

Oracle who was bound to be fast was neer really bothered by Luna Rossa. Was the Prada Challenge playing games by not having De Angelis at the helm? Was this a cat and mouse game? One thing for sure, Oracle had the better start due to a tactical error by Luna Rossa, then Luna Rossa made another tactical choice that did not pay off. Times at markers seem to indicate that Oracle is faster fetching, which is not a positive sign for Luna Rossa.

The fact that Luna Rossa meets Stars&Stripes next cannot be overlooked. If they go 0-2, the gap will be hard to close.