Team Shosholoza stun Alinghi

Auckland - South Africa's Team Shosholoza has produced a stunning win over America's Cup holder Alinghi in the biggest margin so far at the Pacific Series sailing regatta.

Shosholoza were without a win in four races at the sailing regatta when they encountered the star-studded Alinghi crew on Tuesday on the final day of the regatta's first round robin.

They entered the match race as massive underdogs but emerged with a 3 minute, 49 second win - the largest of the regatta to date - by taking advantage of light, shifty conditions on a tricky inshore course.

Alinghi skipper Brad Butterworth, born and raised in Auckland, was considered the leading expert on sailing conditions on the city's Waitemata Harbour but it was the South Africans who best read the wind changes in the race.

Shosholoza's Italian helmsman Paolo Cian first dominated the start to give his team the favoured right side of the course, building a lead of more than 200 metres on the first beat.

Alinghi then sailed into a lull at the bottom mark, made a poor spinnaker drop and watched as Shosholoza built a margin which at one point was more than a kilometre.

The South Africans still led by almost 700 metres at the finish.

Cian praised tactician and compatriot Tomasso Chieffi and New Zealander Cameron Appleton for their shrewd analysis of conditions.

"They did an amazing job," he said. "It was very tricky, very difficult, not only the shifts, but there were lulls and puffs coming all over. They didn't miss a single call."

Team New Zealand and Britain's Team Origin retained their unbeaten records on the final day of the first round robin.

Host Team New Zealand beat France's Pataugas K-Challenge by 1 minute, 38 seconds to finish at the top of Pool A while Team Origin beat the Greek Challenge by 58 seconds to head Pool B.

San Francisco's Oracle Racing clinched second place in Pool A by beating the Damiani Italia Challenge by 55 seconds.

The 10 competing teams now split into a gold fleet of five and silver fleet of four for the second round of racing. Team New Zealand progresses directly to the final. The gold fleet, comprising Alinghi, Team Origin, Oracle, Luna Rossa and the Italia Challenge, will compete to determine seedings for a sail-off to determine the other finalist.

The top team from the silver fleet will also contest the sail-off.