Emirates Team New Zealand and ORACLE TEAM USA return to the racecourse today for Races 12 and 13 of the 34th America’s Cup. If the Kiwis can win either race, the series will end with the tiny island nation in the South Pacific the new America’s Cup champions.Emirates Team New Zealand enters the day leading the series 8-1 and needs just one more victory to hoist the Auld Mug for the third time (1995, 2000). ORACLE TEAM USA needs to win eight consecutive races to stave off the Kiwis’ charge and retain the trophy it won in 2010.

Rival skippers Dean Barker and Jimmy Spithill have wheeled around their AC72s like singlehanded dinghies in the pre-start. Each has spoken of the closeness of the boats despite the different design approaches. Races 4 (ORACLE TEAM USA by 8 seconds), 10 (Emirates Team New Zealand by 16 seconds) and 11 (Kiwis by 15 seconds) all rank in the top-10 closest races in America’s Cup Match history. The Kiwis have won two of those three, which has enabled them to open a nearly insurmountable lead.

“It’s hard to believe that the match would’ve been this close between two teams with different design concepts,” said Barker. “Both teams have reacted very well to what they’ve observed of the other team, and the boats have come together in terms of performance and strengths and weaknesses. It’s quite unbelievable that the two boats are so close in performance across a wide range f conditions.”

Race 12 is scheduled to start at 1:15 pm PT, followed by Race 13 (if necessary) at 2:15 pm PT. The wind is forecast to be similar to today, light to moderate for the first race and building for the second race.

In the U.S., the America’s Cup Finals will be broadcast live on the NBC Sports Network. Replays will be available on the America’s Cup YouTube channel.

Internationally, the America’s Cup Final can be viewed in more than 170 territories. All racing is also live on America’s Cup YouTube channel (subject to territorial restrictions).

You can also follow racing with America’s Cup App for android and iOS devices.