Italian boat is one win from knocking out U.S.

VALENCIA, SPAIN —  Luna Rossa of Italy beat BMW Oracle Racing of the United States on Saturday to move to within one win of the Louis Vuitton Cup finals.

Luna Rossa won by 1 minute 57 seconds and has a 4-1 lead in the best-of-nine semifinals. Emirates Team New Zealand moved in front 4-1 against Desafio Espanol, crossing the finish 1:49 ahead of the Spanish boat.

BMW Oracle Racing entered the America’s Cup challengers series as one of the favorites to meet defending champion Alinghi in the June 23-July 4 final, but instead found itself having to rally against the Italians before even crossing the start line.

Luna Rossa helmsman James Spithill again dominated counterpart Chris Dickson in the prestart maneuvering and came into the starting area with a starboard advantage.

Dickson tried to counter with some aggressive steering, but the BMW Oracle Racing skipper couldn’t guide the USA-98 yacht clear of the Italian boat and the Americans incurred a penalty.

A red flag was shown moments later after Dickson tried to pull out and away from the Italians. The tail of the American yacht clipped the side of the ITA-94 boat for a second infraction, forcing Dickson to perform a penalty turn before starting.

“You never like to put yourself in the hands of the umpires, but we figured if we could have got across, we would have neutralized the situation we were in, but it didn’t pay off for us,” BMW Oracle Racing navigator Peter Isler said.

Handed a two-boat-length lead from the start, the Italians rounded the first marker with a 25-second lead. Luna Rossa crossed the line 1:57 ahead after the Americans performed the second penalty turn at the finish.

“They have earned their victories, but we have seen big turnarounds in regattas before,” Isler said. “Now we may decide to make a change just to shake things up. Don’t count us out yet.”