Former America's Cup holders Alinghi Red Bull Racing are precariously placed, winless and bottom of the table halfway through the challenger series off Barcelona.
Defenders Emirates Team New Zealand have continued their miracle recovery from damage to the hull of Taihoro, accounting for NYYC American Magic to sit atop the standings, although they are already assured of their spot in the America's Cup itself next month.
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli and INEOS Britannia head the challengers field, but the real pressure sits at the bottom of the standings, where one of the five contenders will miss out on the semifinals.
The Swiss have compounded their predicament with losses to the Kiwis (via disqualification) and Italians overnight.
"The mood in the camp is really good," says skipper Arnaud Psarofaghis. "We know we need to put points on the board and to do that we need to win races.
'Now or never'
"We need to start soon, otherwise we are not going to be able to do it anymore. Every day we are just going to try again and again and try to fix what we are missing so far.
"It’s now or never, and so we are looking forward to Tuesday to go out there and do some good races."
Helmed by Kiwi Russell Coutts, Alinghi infamously snatched the Auld Mug off New Zealand off Auckland in 2003 and successfully defended it off Valencia four years later, before losing it to the American BMW Oracle Racing syndicate in 2010.
Meanwhile, the Kiwis' only loss at the current regatta came after their AC75 dropped onto a crane as it was lifted from the water last week and was unable to race against Britannia the next day. Urgent repairs allayed fears they may be out of action for the rest of the challenger event, and they have since bounced back with wins over Orient Express Racing of France and American Magic.
"Amazing effort by the shore crew to get us out there yesterday like they did and the boat was feeling good," reflected trimmer Andy Maloney. "The phases though were extremely difficult out there.
"We didn't read them that well on the first upwind, which we sort of kick ourselves for, but then from then on, I think we re-grouped well and sailed a really good race, keeping in phase when we could and splitting when we had the opportunity to get past them."
The fleet faces another stage of round-robin racing, before one of the challengers is eliminated and the four remaining move on to the semis.
Team New Zealand won't race the semifinals as they will meet the winner of the challenger series in the America's Cup itself.
Standings after first round-robin stage: Team NZ 4, Luna Rossa 4, Britannia 4, American Magic 2, Orient Express 1, Alinghi 0.
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