Sailing: Luna Rossa still perfect in Challenger final, lead INEOS 4-0

REUTERS: Italy's Luna Rossa continued to dominate the Challenger Series final by winning both races on Sunday to extend their lead over INEOS Team UK to 4-0 at Auckland's Waitemata Harbour.

INEOS, skippered by Ben Ainslie, had suffered from poor starts in losing the first two races on Saturday and they also found themselves playing catch-up in the third race.

Taking a poor position in the pre-start, 'Britannia' trailed by about 100m across the starting line and Luna Rossa coasted to victory by 13 seconds.

Jimmy Spithill and co-helmsman Francesco Bruni found another gear in the fourth race as Luna Rossa opened up a 12-second advantage through gate one.

The Italian team maintained their tight grip on the contest to cross the finish line 41 seconds clear and are now just three wins away from advancing to face holders Team New Zealand for the America's Cup from March 6.

The two teams will now have a two-day break before the best-of-13 Challenger Series final resumes with two more races on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)