9:39 AM Wed 17 Mar 2010 GMT 'Artemis and Azzurra had a good battle going to weather - Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland' Paul Todd/Outside Images &copy Today the eight teams competing in the Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland sailed the first elimination round. Team Azzurra of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda lost their match against the Swedes of Artemis but thanks to the particular race format used for this event the all-Italian team was able to advance to the second elimination round scheduled for tomorrow. Three other teams made it to tomorrow's repechage: All4One, Artemis and Team Origin, while the French of Aleph and the Russians of Synergy were eliminated from the competition. Emirates Team New Zealand and Mascalzone Latino Audi Team, who both won their matches today and were the top ranked teams from the round robin, advanced directly to the semifinals and tomorrow will enjoy a day of rest. In tomorrow's elimination round, the four teams will race a best of three series to conquer the right to advance to the semifinals. All4One, being the top ranked team from the round robin in the repechage, had the privilege to choose its opponent in tomorrow's races: Azzurra - if tomorrow team Azzurra wins, they will advance to the semifinals, if they lose they will be eliminated from the competition. Riccardo Bonadeo, President of Azzurra and Commodore of Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, commented: 'today was a very tough day for all the teams who had to fight for a spot in the next round. Unfortunately, having lost our match against Artemis, we left our destiny in the hands of our rivals. Fortunately everything unfolded in our favour. We admire the great sportsmanship that all the teams are showing in this event, their respect for the competition and the other teams and the integrity with which every battle is fought. I have great faith in Francesco [Bruni] and the whole team.' Today's match of Azzurra was sailed in a strong breeze of 20-22 knots, limit conditions for these America's Cup boats. Francesco Bruni, skipper and helmsman of Azzurra aided by Tommaso Chieffi calling tactics, prefers to race in moderate winds, but was still able to execute an excellent start; then Azzurra was caught on the wrong side of a shift which enabled Terry Hutchinson at the helm of Artemis to conquer a strong controlling position. In the two downwind runs, Azzurra lost some ground due to some problems with the spinnaker, while Artemis consolidated its lead and crossed the finish line with a lead of 32 seconds. At the end of the race, when the crew of Azzurra was still waiting for the other matches to unfold in order to know whether they would advance to the next round or not, Francesco Bruni commented: 'today we sailed a tough match in limit conditions. We had a great start but then we were caught on a wrong shift and Artemis gained a good control over us. We still have a chance to advance to the semifinals and we keep our fingers crossed. The team is strong and we look forward to tomorrow's matches.' Today the 18th man on Azzurra was Team Principal Giovanni Maspero, who signed an important partnership with YCCS in October 2009 fully endorsing its philosophy, passion for sailing and the desire to conquer new goals. With his Joe Fly team, Giovanni Maspero won many European titles in the Farr 40 and Melges 24, came second at the 2008 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship and the 2009 Audi Melges 32 World Championship. During the years, Maspero has surrounded himself with many sailors of great talent, Olympic champions and promising young sailors alike, always privileging the Italian excellence. Outcome of all matches sailed today: Artemis (skipper Paul Cayard) def. Azzurra (skipper Francesco Bruni) Team Origin (skipper Ben Ainslie) def. All4One (skipper Jochen Sch?mann) Mascalzone Latino Audi Team (skipper Gavin Brady) def. Aleph (skipper Bertrand Pace) Emirates Team New Zealand (skipper Dean Barker) def. Synergy (skipper Karol Jablonski) Programme for tomorrow, March 18 Artemis vs Team Origin All4One vs Azzurra Azzurra crew Francesco Bruni - Skipper/Helmsman Tommaso Chieffi - Tactician Tom Burnham - Strategist Bruno Zirilli - Navigator Daniele De Luca - Mainsail trimmer Stefano Rizzi - Jib Trimmer Pierluigi De Felice - Spi trimmer Gabriele Bruni - Runner trimmer Piero Romeo - Runner grinder Nicola Pilastro - Mainsail grinder Massimo Galli - Left grinder Francesco Scalici - Right grinder Cristian Griggio - Pitman Luca Albarelli - Mast Pietro Mantovani - Mid Bow Matteo Auguadro - Bowman Michele Cannoni - Pit Assist Gabrio Zandon? - Coach Ben Durham - Reserve Michele Gnutti - Reserve Giuseppe Leonardi - Reserve Louis Vuitton Trophy WSTA official website http://www.louisvuittontrophy.com/home/ by Azzurra Media

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