From 14 to 17 September Luna Rossa, the famous Italian sailing team, participated in the first series of preliminary regattas in view of the America’s Cup, the most important and oldest sailing competition in the world, the next edition of which will be held in a little more of a year in Barcelona. The first stage of the World Series was held in Vilanova i la Geltrù, a Catalan coastal town 40 kilometers from Barcelona, and for the first time in two years Luna Rossa found itself competing with the crews that participated in the last edition of America’s Cup and who will present themselves at next year’s as challengers.
The so-called defender, i.e. the crew holding the America’s Cup – and as such has the right to establish the place of the race and the rules – is still the Emirates Team New Zealand. Then there are the French of Orient Express Racing Team, the Americans of American Magic and the British of INEOS Britannia, who in this edition will be the challenger of record, i.e. the organizers of the competition from which Team New Zealand’s challenger will emerge. Finally, the Swiss Alinghi Red Bull Racing of Italian-Swiss billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli, winners in 2003 and 2007 but absent from the latest editions, have also returned to participate.
All the crews competing in Vilanova used AC40s, i.e. flying monohulls of reduced size and speed compared to the AC75s, the boats that will be seen competing in Barcelona in a year’s time, the development of which is still underway, in great secrecy, in the headquarters of the teams (Luna Rossa’s base is still in Cagliari). They will be updated and therefore even more advanced versions of the elegant and very fast monohulls seen for the first time three years ago in Auckland, where they reached speeds above 55 knots, therefore over 100 kilometers per hour.
The program of the first World Series included fleet regattas, that is, with all the participants in the water at the same time, and scores to establish the two finalist teams in a so-called match race single. However, the first day of racing was canceled due to bad weather and postponed to the following day, where due to the absence of wind the boats were unable to lift themselves using the foil, i.e. the appendages that allow boats to raise the hull above the water level and gain speed. The victories of the day went to Orient Express and Team New Zealand, who also won the following day together with American Magic. These two crews then faced each other in match race final, won by the Americans.
Luna Rossa finished with fourth place in the standings, an “unsatisfactory” result for helmsman Francesco Bruni, one of the best-known members of the Italian crew, but which can be justified by the less time spent practicing with the AC40s compared to the opponents, and with the fact that in these regattas, preparation counts more than results (which are not decisive for next year’s competition).
At the end of the World Series Max Sirena, skipper and director of Luna Rossa, said: «We are closing this regatta not satisfied with the final outcome, even though we knew it would be tough. Let’s go home and analyze what happened to get to Jeddah as prepared as possible.” In fact, in about two months (from 29 November to 2 December) the World Series will continue in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The third and final stage is scheduled for next August in Barcelona, when the AC75s still in the development phase will be visible for the first time.
For now, only a prototype of Luna Rossa’s new AC75 has been seen, presented last October at the Cagliari base by designer Miuccia Prada, godmother and main sponsor of Luna Rossa through the family brand she manages together with her husband, Patrizio Bertelli, the the shipowner who founded Luna Rossa at the end of the nineties. The launch of the final vessel will take place in the coming months.
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2023-09-19 15:15:42
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