Three more solid results in yesterday’s races on San Francisco Bay put Jim Richardson’s Barking Mad team into a nearly unbeatable position going into the final day of the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds.

With a scoreline of 8-7-5, Richardson’s team now has 38 points overall, leading 2003 world champion Nerone owned by Massimo Mezzaroma and Antonio sodo Migliori (Rome, Italy), which is in second place with 73 points. Going into the final day Italian boats hold three of the top four positions, with Marco Rodolfi’s (Comasco) TWT in third and America’s Cup boss Vincenzo Onorato’s (Milan) Mascalzone Latino one point behind in fourth.

Barking Mad almost lost its comfortable lead at the start of the second race when it was forced out to the left-hand side of the course. When it tacked back, Richardson’s team lost further ground by ducking several right-of-way boats coming through on starboard tack.

Two races are planned for today, the fourth and final day of racing.

Results (day 3)

1. James Richardson, Boston, Mass./Newport, R.I., Barking Mad, 9-2-1- 4-2-8-7-5, 38pts

2. Massimo Mezzaroma, Rome, Italy, Nerone, 10-3-3-8-6-10-11-22, 73 pts

3. Marco Rodolfi, Comasco, Italy, TWT, 2-16-20-23-3-4-3-10, 81 pts

4. Vincenzo Onorato, Naples, Italy, Mascalzone Latino, 21-25-13-7-8-2-1-6, 82 pts

5. Steve & Fred Howe, San Diego, Calif., Warpath, 15-5-2-11-17-5-18, 84 pts

6. Steve Phillips, Arnold, Md., Le Renard, 17-10-2-26-9-3-6-14, 86 pts

7. Peter De Ridder, Monaco, Mean Machine, 7-1-10-12-4-26-19-11, 90 pts

8. Chuck Parrish, Hillsborough, Calif., Slingshot, 16-9-15-5-7-1-13-3, 94 pts

9. Erik Maris, Paris, France, Twins 2-5-3-6-10-25-12-8-17, 95 pts

10. Richard Perini, Sydney, Australia, Evolution, 12-11-11-20-1-13-4-24, 96 pts