Team New Zealand will challenge for the America's Cup in San Francisco after completing their rout of Italian opponents Luna Rossa in the final of the challenger series.
The New Zealand boat sailed away to win the eighth race by more than three minutes and complete a 7-1 win in the best-of-13 final which determined the winners of the Louis Vuitton Cup.
It sets up a best-of-17 race for yachting's oldest prize against holders Oracle Team USA, where Team New Zealand will seek to regain the Cup they lost to Swiss syndicate Alinghi in 2003.
The first two races are scheduled for September 7.
A disappointing regatta for Luna Rossa ended on a typical note on Sunday, beaten in the pre-start and spending the rest of race chasing a faster boat.
In a race shrouded at the start by fog, Team NZ opened up a 15sec lead after the short first leg. It was 1min 30sec by the second mark and 2:58 by the third before cruising home to a winning margin of 3:17.
Winds of 10-15 knots were lighter than during race seven on Saturday, when the Kiwi crew pushed their AC72 catamaran to the fastest speed of the regatta so far, clocking 47.18 knots.
Their sole loss came in second race, when their hydraulic system malfunctioned.
Team New Zealand have secured the Louis Vuitton Cup for the third time since it was first contested in 1983.
They beat One Australia 5-1 in San Diego in 2005 before going on to defeat Young America and lift the America's Cup.
In 2007 they eclipsed Luna Rossa 5-0 in the challenger final in Valencia but lost 5-2 to America's Cup holders Alinghi.
Four of the seven previous Louis Vuitton Cup winners have gone on to successfully challenge for the America's Cup.
