SAN DIEGO (AP) — Energy Team of France surprised the fleet on the opening day of the third stop of the America’s Cup World Series by edging two sailing powerhouses to claim the top seed for the match racing championships.
Energy Team, skippered by Yann Guichard, finished third, fifth and first in Wednesday’s three fleet races to score 24 points. Emirates Team New Zealand, the overall ACWS leader coming into the San Diego regatta, was second with 23 points, while Oracle Racing-Spithill was third with 22 points.
They clinch the top three seeds and moved directly into the match racing semifinals on Friday. The other six teams begin match racing eliminations on Thursday.
Dean Barker skippered Team New Zealand to finishes of second, third and fifth. Jimmy Spithill, the winning skipper in the 2010 America’s Cup, had a rough day on the starting line but managed finishes of fifth, fourth and second.
