[null, {"document_url": "https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-4548678/35th-Americas-Cup-dramatic-start.html", "unformatted_src": "https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/furniture/facebook/DailyMail/DailyMail.png", "src": "https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/furniture/facebook/DailyMail/DailyMail.png", "formatted_filename": "DailyMail"}, null, {"document_url": "https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-4548678/35th-Americas-Cup-dramatic-start.html", "unformatted_src": "https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1/2017/05/28/00/wire-656591-1495929467-767_634x418.jpg", "src": "https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1/2017/05/28/00/wire-656591-1495929467-767_634x418.jpg", "formatted_filename": "wire", "alt_text": "Oracle Team USA skippered by Jimmy Spithill sails as the 35th America's Cup gets underway on May 27, 2017 on Bermuda's Great Sound, where near gale-force winds the previous day had prevented the scheduled start", "rendered_width": 634, "rendered_height": 418}, null, null, {"document_url": "https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-4548678/35th-Americas-Cup-dramatic-start.html", "unformatted_src": "https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/04/23/undefined-undefined-1D4938BD00000578-291_136x135.jpg", "src": "https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/04/23/undefined-undefined-1D4938BD00000578-291_136x135.jpg", "formatted_filename": "undefined undefined D BD", "alt_text": "generalmills-orange.png", "rendered_width": 136, "rendered_height": 135}, null, null]


Two wins for USA in dramatic start to America's Cup


Published: 17:12 EST, 27 May 2017 | Updated: 19:57 EST, 27 May 2017 Oracle Team USA skippered by Jimmy Spithill sails as the 35th America's Cup gets underway on May 27, 2017 on Bermuda's Great Sound, where near gale-force winds the previous day had prevented the scheduled start

Oracle Team USA rallied to edge Emirates Team New Zealand Saturday as the 35th America's Cup got underway with two wins for two-time defending champions Oracle and a collision involving Ben Ainslie's Land Rover BAR.

The drama unfolded under picture-book skies on Bermuda's Great Sound, where near gale-force winds had prevented the scheduled start on Friday.

For the first time the defending champions are competing in the qualifiers, and Team USA didn't disappoint.

They delivered the first of two thumpings handed out to Groupama Team France before taking on New Zealand in a rematch of the 2013 America's Cup -- when the US outfit won eight straight races to seal one of the biggest comeback triumphs in sport.

Team USA skipper Jimmy Spithill caught New Zealand as they rounded the mark into the penultimate leg and went on to win by six seconds.

A closely fought start launched a fascinating contest that saw Team New Zealand take a 20-second lead at gate three.

But by gate five Spithill had closed the gap and they came toward the mark virtually side-by-side.

"The boys worked very, very hard today," Spithill said. "It was a physical day. A couple of big races. But we're in good shape for tomorrow."

After the first day of round-robin qualifiers Team USA were tied atop the standings with Britain's Land Rover BAR, both on three points.

The British syndicate came into the qualifiers with two bonus points from the America's Cup World Series, from which Team USA brought one point.

They quelled the doubts raised by lackluster practice race showings with an impressive victory over Sweden's Artemis Racing, but the day would end badly for Ainslie's BAR.

They were penalized for a scary pre-start collision with SoftBank Team Japan and with visible damage to one hull finished 48 seconds behind the Japanese in the final race of the day.

Ainslie called the incident "unfortunate".

"We had a sideways slip just as Dean (Barker) came in and got the leeward overlap. No one wants that, certainly in our position as we picked up a penalty and the damage. Thankfully, the most important thing is that no one got hurt."

Team Japan tactician Chris Draper said there were "a couple of bruises" among SoftBank crew members and some compression damage to his boat's carbon fiber hull.

- 'Sizeable hole' -

But the more serious damage was to BAR -- who could have trouble making repairs in time for their scheduled races on Sunday against heavy hitters Team USA and Team New Zealand.

"The boat is pretty badly damaged, with a sizeable hole in the port hull," Ainslie said. "By the time we got to the dock she was on her way down."

In other races, Artemis -- whose stock has risen with some impressive practice performances this month defeated Team Japan by 13 seconds.

New Zealand gained their first point with a dominant victory over France -- officially unveiling the bicycle-style grinding system they've installed in place of arm-driven winches to power the catamaran's hydraulics system.



