Team New Zealand helmsman Peter Burling was apparently ordered to under-perform during the start of earlier races as part of a plan to outfox Oracle's Jimmy Spithill in the finals series. In fact, the Team New Zealand helmsman had been ordered to bluff his abilities at the starting box before unleashing hell on Spithill, it's been reported. It appeared Burling had made swift developments in his match-racing, especially the start, over the course the series. It was Team New Zealand's speed that afforded them the luxury of beating opponents despite mixed performances at the start line. He revealed their success stemmed from the belief in each and every individual on the team, "in particular Grant Dalton, skipper Glenn Ashby, Peter Burling and the other 83 team members".

Source: New Zealand Herald June 29, 2017 00:00 UTC