The two-time Daytona 500 champion Michael Waltrip had to wait until the end of the second race to be sure he would make the field based on qualifying time, after wrecking in the first Duel.
First held in 1829, no attempt was made to organise the second race until 1834.
But it took until the fourth race in Bahrain last weekend for Red Bull to earn a win, courtesy of Vettel.
Vettel, after winning 11 races en route to his crushing title success last year, had to wait until the fourth race of this campaign for his opening victory, and then the 14th for his second, sparking his surge past Alonso.
Coutts and his team easily overcame the Italians' fast starts, but he waited until the fourth race to introduce a secret weapon a new, light "code zero" headsail, designed for light winds.
The atmosphere may be less intense, a change evident yesterday as the St Patrick's Day crowd had to wait until the fifth race for an Irish winner, but at least it is now possible to place a bet and buy a drink between races, previously one of the Festival's great challenges.
It was definitely fun to watch the tiny jockeys race by, but it wasn't until the third race when my horse snatched it by a nose that I understood the rush of winning and why everybody jumps up from their seats and yells at the track.
Until the sixth race, the powerhouse American squad, owned by software tycoon Larry Ellison and crewed mostly by Australians, had been humbled by the underfunded but crafty Kiwis and their fast 50ft, foiling catamaran helmed by 26-year-old America's Cup rookie Peter Burling.
Ainslie had trailed Hogh-Christensen all week and had not beaten the Dane until the seventh race of the regatta.
Lotus technical director James Allison said two weeks ago that he did not expect Caterham's design to survive until the first race.
