GBR Challenge skipper Ian Walker is upbeat about his team's potential for the challengers' series for the America's Cup and warned they could be a potent force in a competitive boat.

The British entry competed against three America's Cup rivals, including defender Team New Zealand, in the recent International Regatta, a series of friendly warm-up races in Auckland.

GBR Challenge also took on Sweden's Victory Challenge and One World, from America, winning once from six match races.

But in their first competitive outing on Auckland Harbour - venue for the Louis Vuitton Cup challengers' series in October - the British boat was first across the line in every race.

And that is why Walker believes his team will be a real contender when they take delivery of their brand new state-of-the-art America's Cup boat in April.

"The promising thing for us is that the things we could control we did well," Walker told BBC Sport Online.

"My hope was to start well and make good decisions and I feel we did that.

"In a couple of races we were just out-horsepowered.

"But hopefully when we get the new boat, sails and mast we won't have any problems speed-wise.

"We did make some mistakes but we won every single start, including beating Team New Zealand, so in that sense it was very satisfying."

Dean Barker's America's Cup champions won the warm-up regatta sailing the NZL60 boat which took them to a 5-0 whitewash over Italy's Prada in 2000.

Walker admitted that the Kiwis had a much faster machine than either of Britain's two ex-Nippon Challenge training boats.

But he was looking forward to racing the opposition on a more level playing field.

"One of the problems was that the boats were very different speeds," said Walker, a double Olympic silver medallist.