They appeared to have won the regatta on the water, but Victory Challenge had to wait until a Jury decision was issued several hours after racing concluded to learn that they had been disqualified from the fourth race.

The next boat on the leaderboard, Luna Rossa Challenge, had sailed a strong, consistent regatta, and they become the winners of Act 5.

"I don't have a preference for match racing or fleet racing," Luna Rossa skipper Francesco de Angelis told the crowd at the prize-giving ceremony. "My only preference is for winning!"

It was a heartbreaking set back for Victory Challenge, who impressed all observers with their strong performance in both Valencia Louis Vuitton Acts, but particularly in Act 5.

The protest was a technical one, after the Measurer found an unusual amount of water in the bilge of SWE 63 during a routine inspection after the fourth race. This set in motion a chain of events that saw the Race Committee obliged to protest the Swedes for the infringement of ACC Class Rule 36.12.

The Jury, after receiving a report from the Measurement Committee detailing the rule infringement in the protest hearing, was left with no recourse but to disqualify Victory Challenge from the race.

The results leave Luna Rossa Challenge and Alinghi on equal points at the top of the table, but the Italians win the tie-break by virtue of having the best result in an individual race (a win in race four).

Victory Challenge tumbles from first to sixth with the disqualification. Luna Rossa was presented with a Mariscal-designed trophy following the revised results in front of a large and appreciative crowd at the America's Cup Park.

Results (race 5)