Archive for April, 2007

Into Round Robin 2 we go, with the pressure building on the teams in mid-table to out a string of results together to try and make a stake for the 4th semi-final spot. i still don’t see any real danger to the big three teams, though the Kiwis will be starting to worry that they are some way behind Oracle’s consistency.

So my picks are:

Flight 1

• BMW ORACLE Racing – United Internet Team Germany
• Victory Challenge – Team Shosholoza
• Luna Rossa Challenge – China Team
• Emirates Team New Zealand – Mascalzone Latino – Capitalia Team
• Areva Challenge – +39 Challenge

Flight 2

• Team Shosholoza – United Internet Team Germany
• BMW ORACLE Racing – China Team
• Luna Rossa Challenge – Victory Challenge
• +39 Challenge – Desafío Español 2007
• Areva Challenge – Mascalzone Latino – Capitalia Team

Disclaimer: I know some matches in flight 1 were raced yesterday, but I have not seen the results prior to posting this!

Some big matches today, particularly for the Spanish and Americans. Desafío will be looking to capitalise on the two wins earned yesterday and prove themselves real contenders against their direct rivals for the semi-finals. Emirates cannot afford many more slipups, and will be looking to claw back some points by halting Oracle’s unbeaten run in their second match, if the Spaniards haven’t already managed to register a big win in flight 10.

So, on to my picks:

Flight 10

• Luna Rossa Challenge    -    Mascalzone Latino – Capitalia Team
• Emirates Team New Zealand    -    Victory Challenge
• BMW ORACLE Racing    -    Desafío Español 2007
• +39 Challenge    -    China Team
• Areva Challenge    -    United Internet Team Germany

Flight 11

• +39 Challenge    -    United Internet Team Germany
• Team Shosholoza    -    Areva Challenge
• Mascalzone Latino – Capitalia Team    -    Victory Challenge
• Luna Rossa Challenge    -    Desafío Español 2007
• Emirates Team New Zealand    -    BMW ORACLE Racing

Today flights 6 & 7 are planned, which gives us the possibility of some more interesting matches, following yesterday’s big win for the South Africans, and a bad day for Luna Rossa who lost both their matches.

Here are my predictions again, winners in bold as always:

Flight 6

• China Team – Desafío Español 2007
• Team Shosholoza – Emirates Team New Zealand
• Areva Challenge – Luna Rossa Challenge
• United Internet Team Germany – Mascalzone Latino – Capitalia Team
• +39 Challenge – Victory Challenge

Flight 7

• BMW ORACLE Racing – Areva Challenge
• Luna Rossa Challenge – +39 Challenge
• United Internet Team Germany – Emirates Team New Zealand
• Mascalzone Latino – Capitalia Team – China Team
• Desafío Español 2007 – Team Shosholoza

Team Shosholoza will be looking to build on their progress so far, on another challenging day for them with matches against the Kiwis and Spanish. Both should win, but we have seen enough from Shosholoza to know that they are capable of putting in the performances to beat the big teams, and won’t be taken lightly by either of their opponents today. Luna Rossa will be looking to recover from yesterday’s disappointment, whilst Emirates Team New Zealand will be hoping to see themselves back at the top of the table this evening.

All this providing we get some wind in Valencia!