After two consecutive wins against Team Oracle in Bermuda, Emirates Team New Zealand have set themselves up perfectly to lose the competition 7-6.

The New Zealanders pushed themselves out to a 6-1 lead this morning, maintaining the position they’ve held for the last four years; one win from victory.

Helmsman Peter Burling said he was “very happy” to have reached the same milestone the team did in 2013.

“A large match-point lead is what we’ve been aiming for this whole competition,” he said, ”so we’re very happy to get here, and we feel we’re now well poised to lose from this point on.”

But despite a cautious optimism, Burling says the job isn’t done yet, and that it “won’t be easy” to lose another six races in a row.

“That will be a challenge,” he said, “and I think Jimmy [Spithill] and his crew will certainly give it their best shot.”

For his part, Spithill isn’t counting his chickens either, and is instead planning to race boats.

“We’re not taking this for granted, no,” said Spithill, who answered questions today flanked by 3 screens playing the last race of the 2013 Cup in San Francisco. “The consensus amongst our guys is really, this is going far, far too much to plan for our liking.

“In some ways it almost looks like they’re trying to give us the win, so we have to be wary of that.”

Asked if he could turn the video down so reporters could hear his answers, he replied “No, I won’t do that.”

Despite the fact there may only be one race left in the competition, Oracle has demanded four more press conferences for tomorrow morning, as Spithill feels he hasn’t talked enough yet.