The crews in the first scheduled semi-final, Emirates Team New Zealand and Britain's Land Rover BAR, sat on board their catamarans in Bermuda's Great Sound waiting to see if the wind would build, trying to stay out of the beating sun. That helped kill the drama in a rematch of the teams that met in the epic 2013 America's Cup match. Oracle then mounted one of the greatest comebacks in sports, winning eight straight races to retain the Auld Mug. This is the first time the defender has sailed with the challengers in the preliminaries. The bonus point is another new twist.
Spithill said he did not even know if he had make it to the start line after the rudder mishap.
Today's races will now be held tomorrow on what was to have been a lay day.
The two teams have a huge showdown Saturday, the final day of round robin two.
BAR remain the most likely team to do so after bouncing back to beat Team France.
Oracle Team USA, owned by software billionaire Larry Ellison, won by 1:56.
"The boys sailed a great race", Burling said.
"We are excited to be here", said Artemis Racing's helmsman Nathan Outteridge. We wanted that point.it created this real hunger for everyone.
It was back to earth with a bump today for Emirates Team New Zealand, as the Kiwis were handed a match-racing lesson from Oracle Team USA in an error-strewn end to the qualifying series. Oracle came into these qualifiers with a one-point bonus for finishing second in the ACWS.
South Africa implode to leave India as favourites to make semi-finals
Ahead of the big match, AB de Villiers spoke to media and said that he is still in good form and he is hitting the ball very well. The pair put on 128 for the second wicket before Dhawan was caught, but the damage had always been done to South Africa's hopes.
But a disastrous gybe from Land Rover BAR saw the boat nosedive and turn sharply to send Emirates surging clear, with a half-length lead turning into a 350-meter gap within moments.
A miserable race for Ainslie ended with Land Rover BAR retiring before the finish.
So if the Kiwis beat Oracle on Saturday and eventually reach the match, it will start with a one-point advantage.
That seems highly unlikely, though. They've clinched the top seed for the semifinals, which start Sunday.
Two losses to Artemis Racing demonstrate obvious weaknesses, and Jimmy Spithill will have to ensure his team keep sharp and ready as they wait to discover their official challenger.
Artemis also led wire-to-wire in their 18 second victory over Team Japan. We wanted that point, like the rest of the teams. The British were off Friday.
The result means the US team supported by Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison will have a point lead against whoever gets to challenge them in head-to-head match, which will be won by the first team to get to seven points.
The first race of the day, a critical battle between the crews at the bottom of the table, SoftBank Team Japan and Groupama Team France, was postponed by the umpire as wind speeds dropped below six knots (11 kilometres per hour).
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