Team New Zealand remained in fifth place as British sailor Ben Ainslie took control of the fleet racing element of the America's Cup world series regatta off San Francisco on Saturday (NZT).
Fifth and sixth placings in the 11-strong fleet saw Team New Zealand retain its overnight position on 27 points after four of seven races but the gap to five-time Olympic medallist Ainslie's JP Morgan BAR grew considerably.
The overnight leaders picked up a first and second placing to sit on 43 points with three races remaining, well clear of Sweden's Artemis Racing White crew skipped by Terry Hutchinson on 34.
Meanwhile, Team New Zealand learned who their match racing semi-final opponents will be after the second set of quarter-finals were contested.
They will sail against Artemis Racing Red after the Nathan Outteridge-skipped crew saw off Oracle Team USA, who were disqualified for rounding the wrong reach mark while leading late in their race.
NZN
