Emirates Team New Zealand has had its first loss of the Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland regatta.

The French team Aleph was having the best of their race against Emirates Team New Zealand on Monday when ETNZ's gennaker ripped in the left corner on the first down-wind leg.

Dean Barker and crew finished the run under jib. They gained some ground on the second beat but ran out of runway on the downwind leg to the finish. Aleph finished 36 sec ahead.

With a five-win, one-loss record for the regatta so far, Emirates Team New Zealand retains its place at the top of the leaderboard.

Skipper Dean Barker said Aleph deserved its win today. "They had not had a good run in the regatta so far but they're a strong team and today the came out really firing.

"We were behind, but working hard to close the gap and create some opportunities when the gennaker tore. We hoped the sail would hold, but it didn't and that effectively ended our race.

"We did make up some of the lost ground (Aleph's lead at the first mark was 27sec, the second mark 57sec, the third mark and at finish 38sec) but on these short courses there's not much opportunity to recover.

"Today we'll have a hard look at everything we're doing to make sure we're in good shape for the rest of the regatta."