Marseille is proving to be an excellent venue for the opening Act of the 32nd America's Cup. Strong winds, a spectacular backdrop, and close action on the Rade Sud is showing that America's Cup racing in Europe is every bit as exciting as one could have hoped for.

Heavy conditions were the order of the day again on Tuesday, with the first race starting in a building 12-14 knot Southeasterly. But the wind increased as the race went on, and for the second contest, the crews were confronted once again with strong winds, with gusts approaching 30-knots.

The cream of the Marseille Louis Vuitton Act fleet is rising to the top, with the BMW Oracle Racing team stretching away to a solid lead over the other two boats that make up the 'big three' here. Two wins on Tuesday, making for three victories in a row, means the American team will have won the fleet race portion of the Marseille Louis Vuitton Act.

There is no racing scheduled for Wednesday, and when competition resumes on Thursday, it will be for the Match Racing section of the event.

Each team is scheduled to race each other team once, in a complete Round Robin format. The wins accumulated from this section, each one worth six points, will be added to the fleet racing points to determine the winner of the Marseille Louis Vuitton Act.

Provisionnal Rankings (4 races):

1. BMW Oracle Racing: 22 points (3-1-1-1)
2. Team Alinghi: 20 points (1-2-3-2)
3. Emirates Team New Zealand: 18 points (2-3-2-3)
4. K-Challenge: 11 points (4-4-5-4)
5. Team Shosholoza: 8 points (5-5-4-6)
6. Le Défi : 5 points (6-6-6-5)