BMW Oracle Racing Team won Race 2 of the 33rd America’s Cup off the coast of Valencia and took the America’s Cup trophy. The team, founded a decade ago by successful software entrepreneur Larry Ellison, crossed the finish line in the high-tech trimaran USA a full 5 minutes ahead of the Alinghi team. For the first time Ellison was on board the USA, enjoying victory on his first American’s Cup match race. The Valentine’s Day win made BMW Oracle Racing the first victorious American team in the America’s Cup since 1992.

The America’s Cup 34 will be held in 3 or 4 years and defended by The Golden Gate Yacht Club, Larry Ellison’s club. Many are wondering if it the venue will be San Francisco Bay, which has heavy cargo traffic. Other possible locations that have been mentioned are San Diego, California, Newport, Rhode Island and Valencia.

The 33rd Americas Cup is now underway in Valencia, Spain. The race is between just two teams, defender Alinghi and BMW Oracle Racing. The 2010 America’s Cup has been one of the most controversial to date. Following several months of litigation, both teams agreed to a one-on-one Deed of Gift match. The boats, named Alinghi 5 and USA 17, are 90 ft. sailing multi-hulls. We’ve written here before about the benefits of multi-hulls, and this race is proving us right in the extreme. These vessels are capable of going “faster than the wind.” Power boats carrying film crews and race officials are having a hard time keeping up.

The first two days of scheduled racing were postponed due to rough wind and wave conditions. The first race was held today and the winning team was BMW Oracle Racing. The next race in this “first to two” competition will be Sunday, Feb. 14. See Race 1 in this YouTube video:

After nearly two years of litigation, a New York Supreme Court Justice upheld the decision to hold the 33rd running of the America’s Cup race in February of 2010. The rules of the America’s Cup state that the defending champion and the challenger of record decide the location and date of the next event.

The defending champion is Swiss-based Alinghi, which sails under the colors of Societe Nautique de Geneve (SNG). Alinghi had requested the event to be held in May 2010 and had also identified the Spanish syndicate Desafio Espanol as the challenger of record. Oracle, from San Francisco’s Golden Gate Yacht Club, went to court to be recognized as the challenger of record. Oracle won and was also able to set the date for the event.

Hopefully Alinghi and Oracle can now being negotiations to decide other important details of the America’s Cup, such as the location of the race and standards for entries. The America’s Cup is one of the world’s oldest sporting competitions, originating at the New York Yacht Club in 1851.