May 31 (Reuters) - Racing in the America's Cup qualifier in Bermuda was delayed on Wednesday as a shifting wind dropped to the borderline for the average speed needed for the high-tech catamarans to race.
The first race of the day, a critical battle between the crews at the bottom of the table, SoftBank Team Japan and Groupama Team France, was postponed by the umpire as wind speeds dropped below six knots (11 kilometres per hour).
There was no immediate indication from the umpires as to whether racing would be abandoned for the day.
French skipper Franck Cammas said in a televised interview before racing was due to begin at just after 1700 GMT that the conditions would be tricky, with light and shifty winds.
Groupama Team France, the pre-event underdogs, have struggled to get their 50-foot foiling catamaran to "fly" as well as the other five crews in the regatta.
But the French, who were comprehensively beaten by America's Cup holders Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Team USA on Tuesday, have won two races, including a memorable victory over Britain's Land Rover BAR, skippered by Ben Ainslie.
"We have to create the speed to fly, this is the challenge for us," Cammas said.
SoftBank Team Japan, who are also relative late-comers to the America's Cup, are also on two points going into their encounter with the French crew, who are scheduled to race Ainslie's team later in the day.
Each of the six teams races the other twice in the head-to-head match race format, with a point for the winner. The challenger with the fewest points at the end of the qualifiers will not go through to the next semi-final round.
If no racing is possible due to the conditions on Bermuda's Great Sound on Wednesday, it will be postponed to Thursday, which was earmarked as a "lay day" in the regatta for crews to regroup before the next round of races.