Score a double for ORACLE TEAM USA, as Jimmy Spithill has won the fleet racing championship of ACWS San Francisco after stablemate Russell Coutts won the match racing championship earlier today.
Spithill had to claw his way back through the fleet to ensure the victory, which was by 1 point over Luna Rossa Piranha (Chris Draper). Draper won the fleet race finale by 3 seconds over Spithill, which rounded the final reach mark in 3rd place. But Spithill was able to get a penalty on Team Korea (Nathan Outteridge), which was in 2nd place. Team Korea had to slow down and Spithill sailed through to leeward into second place and the winner’s circle.
Wonderful video of Russell Coutts perfect start in the match racing final follows the jump. Coutts won the final match race for the Championship over Spithill. An amazing display of boat positioning on the line and time on distance.