Larry Ellison's BMW Oracle inflicted a second consecutive defeat over Swiss holders Alinghi to win the America’s Cup and take control of its immediate future.
Racing for the first time in the regatta, the American billionaire who has spent more than $300 million on this rare Deed of Gift campaign, sat motionless on his trimaran's netting until they crossed the finish line when he hugged his crew and raised his arms in triumph.
It was another deeply impressive performance from the Americans who once again started the race in the box seat after Alinghi incurred a penalty during the pre-start.
The flag went up when Alinghi failed to clear the start box area at the signal. It was the second time in two races they had incurred a penalty before the start and meant they would have to complete a penalty turn at some point on the triangular 39 mile course.
They stalled and proved slow to pick up speed crossing the line 24 seconds behind BMW Oracle but immediately headed out to the right hand side of the course as the two multihulls chose opposite tacks.
For most of the first upwind leg, Alinghi benefitted from the windshifts and halfway through the leg, had gained a 600m lead with Loick Peyron taking over helming duties from Alinghi owner Ernesto Bertarelli.
Their resolve to look again at the catamaran's sail configuration on Saturday following her under par performance the day before clearly paid dividends with more time spent with a hull in full flight and consistently higher speeds.
Just before the top mark, a slow tack gave BMW Oracle a window of opportunity which was seized on to give the Americans a 28 second advantage as the two boats careered off on the downwind leg.
That lead was progressively stretched through the 13 mile leg and by the time they rounded the second mark and headed for the finish, Alinghi were trailing by two minutes and 44 seconds, their only chance of victory lying in a major gear failure on USA.
They weakly raised a red protest flag at one point but as soon as the final reaching leg was completed and BMW Oracle was duly crowned America's Cup winners, by five minutes and 26 seconds for a 2-0 scoreline, the protest was withdrawn.
They completed their penalty turn as a mark of respect and crossed the line to put an end to Bertarelli's seven year tenure as America's Cup holder.
America last won in 1992 but in the Cup's 159 year history, has defended or challenged it successfully in 29 of the 33 AC matches.
The American win opens up the possibility of a multichallenger event in the 34th America's Cup, which Sir Keith Mills, head of the British Team Origin campaign was quick to embrace.
"I'm really glad to see that the fog that has beset the America's Cup for the last two and half years has lifted almost overnight," he said from Vancouver where he is attending the winter Olympic Games.
"The sporting contest that took place on the waters of Valencia over the past few days has been demonstrative and overwhelming. In the next 24 hours or so Team Origin expects the lasts whisps of mist to disappear when the new Defender and its Challenger of Record announce their mutual consent plans for the 34th America's Cup. We look forward to that moment."
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