Bill Koch`s America3 stole Dennis Conner`s wind and ended Stars & Stripes` three-race winning streak in the America`s Cup defender finals on Wednesday.
America3 got a favorable wind shift for the fifth lead change in the race and won by 1 minute, 8 seconds to take a 5-4 lead in the best-of-13 series.
”We just ran a little low on moves,” said Conner, the defending America`s Cup skipper.
Stars & Stripes isn`t in as big a hole as New Zealand.
The Kiwis benched American-born skipper Rod Davis before Wednesday`s race and then made several errors on the water in losing by 20 seconds to Italy`s Il Moro di Venezia, which took a 4-3 lead in the best-of-9 series.
A win on Thursday would make Il Moro the first European challenger to reach the America`s Cup finals since England`s Sovereign in 1964.
