Another racing day went by with the Defender of the America's Cup clearly dominating the race courses.

Not only is the team undefeated in match racing so far in 2005 it is also the only one not to have suffered any technical problems during the first three days of Louis Vuitton Act 8 in Trapani.

As Ed Baird, Alinghi helsman, said, "the main thing today was that once again the equipment had to work properly in extreme conditions, and for a few teams it didn’t, so it’s very exciting to be on the team that had no problems on that front today."

Saturday was the first day with races among the "Top Four" teams (Alinghi, BMW Oracle, Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa), the next one being the last day of the Act.

Alinghi faced Luna Rossa but the race finished prematurely as the Italian team abandoned due to a technical problem. BMW Oracle and Emirates Team New Zealand offered a nail-biting race as the boats switched leadership positions throughout the race and the New Zealanders crossed the finish line just three seconds ahead of the Americans.

Further down the scoreboard, Mascalzone Latino and +39 had to abandon as well due to breakages but also scored their first victory. Shosholoza beat United Internet Team Germany and China Team had their first win.

So far the performance of Desafío Español 2007, Mascalzone Latino and +39 has been very disappointing.

Results of the Day

Flight 4

Team NZ def. Mascalzone (DNF)
Shosholoza def. Team Germany (0:20)
BMW Oracle def. K-Challenge (2:44)
Alinghi def. Victory (1: 14)
China Team def. +39 Challenge (3:05)
Luna Rossa def. Desafío (1:36)

Flight 5

Alinghi def. Luna Rossa (DNF)
+39 Challenge def. Desafío (2:22)
Victory def. China Team (DNS)
Team NZ def. BMW Oracle (0:03)
K-Challenge def. Team Germany (0:20)
Mascalzone def. Shosholoza (01:30)