Prada wins in light winds

Embattled Italian team Prada limped across the finish line to win the only America's Cup challengers series race completed on Tuesday as light winds snuffed out a clash between U.S. rivals Oracle and OneWorld.

NEWS: Prada send lead boat for modifications

PRADA (ITA) BEAT VICTORY CHALENGE (SWE) BY 2 MINUTES, 35 SECONDS

TEAM DENNIS CONNER (U.S.) v LE DEFI AREVA (FRA): POSTPONED

ORACLE BMW RACING (U.S.) v ONEWORLD (U.S.): POSTPONED

MASCALZONE LATINA (ITA) v GBR CHALLENGE (GBR): POSTPONED

ALINGHI (SUI): BYE

STANDINGS: Alinghi 4; Victory Challenge 3; Oracle 3; OneWorld 3; Team Dennis Conner 2; Prada 2; GBR Challenge 1; Le Defi 0; Mascalzone Latino 0.

Prada, the defending champions of the Louis Vuitton Cup for challengers, beat strong Swedish syndicate Victory Challenge by 2 minutes 35 for only their second win in five races.

The team backed by the Milan fashion house of the same name are now two points behind series leaders Alinghi of Switzerland.

The Italians' $55 million challengers defence had looked in disarray after they demoted principal boat designer Doug Peterson a week ago.

Earlier on Tuesday Prada announced that the second of their two sleek, $5 million yachts would have to go into an Auckland boatyard for hull modifications. They hope to have it ready by the time the challengers quarter-finals begin in November.

Light winds on the Hauraki Gulf off Auckland threatened to demoralise the Italians even further.

But Prada drifted across the finish line after the final leg just inside the 45 minutes allowed for the completion of each of the six legs in the 18.5 nautical mile race.

The anxiety aboard the Italian yacht was noticeable as the wind faded over the final leg and the Prada crew strained for every knot of speed.

Prada trailed the impressive Swedish team on the first four legs but skipper Francesco de Angelis and tactician Torben Grael gambled on the second windward leg by breaking off from Victory to go in search of more wind on the right side of the course.

Victory chose not to cover Prada's move and paid dearly as the Italians picked up better breeze and surged to a lead of almost four minutes on the third and final windward leg.

But de Angelis and his crew faced a nervous final 45 minutes as they edged down the final leg just inside the time limit.

The focus of Tuesday's racing was to have been on the clash between software billionaire Larry Ellison's Oracle and OneWorld, backed by telecoms investor Craig McCaw and Ellison's sworn technology enemy, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.

But their race was abandoned when the boats were unable to finish one leg within the allowed 45 minutes.

Races between Team Dennis Conner, the third U.S. syndicate, and Le Defi Areva of France and Italy's Mascalzone Latino and Britain's GBR Challenge were also abandoned for lack of wind.

The races are to be resailed, most likely on one of four reserve days set aside next week.

The undefeated OneWorld have been one of the most impressive teams but have had a point deducted from their tally for a design rules breach before the start of the regatta. They are on three points with Oracle and Victory.

Ellison's $85 million campaign also appears on pace to claim one of the coveted top four quarter-finals places next month.

The nine challengers will race each other once in each of two round robins before the top eight progress to the quarter-finals. The winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup will take on holders Team New Zealand in the America's cup in February 2003.