Emirates Team New Zealand produced a performance to strike trepidation into the rest of fleet after beating Land Rover BAR into submission.

Team New Zealand forced Ben Ainslie into the first retirement of his glittering career to cement their place as the favourites to challenge Oracle Team USA for the America’s Cup.

The Kiwis, looking for revenge over the defender after surrendering an 8-1 lead at the previous event in San Francisco in 2013, certainly appear to be ahead of the curve in terms of innovation.

Not only is their decision to replace the traditional grinding system with a cycling arrangement looking like a glimpse into the future, their larger “aggressive” foils also seem to be paying dividends.

“We’ve actually had these foils for a while and they seem really good in these lighter air conditions,” said Peter Burling, the Team New Zealand helmsman.

“Our foils with that one kink are slightly more aggressive than what a few of the other guys have got.”

Ainslie’s BAR were ruthlessly punished by the Kiwis after coming off their foils on leg two of yesterday’s race and Team New Zealand opened up a whopping 6min 25sec lead by leg four.

Ominously for their rivals, Burling maintains that Team New Zealand are very much a work in progress and are learning about their capabilities with each race.

“Part of our secondary goal at this competition is definitely to learn and keep on improving,” added Burling, who at 26 is the youngest helmsman competing.

“We’ve definitely been trying bits and pieces so far and I can’t see that stopping.

“We’ve put a fair bit of work into our latest set-up and it’s pleasing to see we’re somewhat on the pace.”

While some of the other teams struggled for speed at times in the lighter conditions, Burling and his team-mates simply sailed off into the distance for their sixth win.

The Kiwis, who have advanced to the Challenger play-offs, are second in the standings and only trail leaders Oracle because of the bonus point they picked up in the World Series.

“We were really happy with our racing today,” Burling said. “The light winds made things difficult and meant a lot of effort was needed but the guys did a great job.

“It was also good to have the opportunity to race in a different condition and that allows us to keep learning about our boat.”

Oracle, who overcame a penalty at the pre-start to beat SoftBank Team Japan by 32 seconds yesterday, will be watching Team New Zealand’s progression with great interest.

The pair meet on the final day of the Qualifiers tomorrow, with Jimmy Spithill, the Oracle skipper, reiterating his desire to win the series and claim the bonus point.

“That bonus point on offer is key and we are definitely going for it,” Spithill said. “It is a big advantage to have it and so we will being going all out to win the Qualifiers.

“It’s not the be all and end all and you’d obviously love to keep the development going. But for sure it would be nice to take it into the [America’s Cup] Match.”