The semi-finals of the Louis Vuitton Cup are moving forward in a fast-track fashion. Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (Italy) and Ineos Britannia (United Kingdom) are one victory away from reaching the final of the competition, which will see the Challenger take on Team New Zealand, the defending America’s Cup champion. The second day of the semi-finals, held this Sunday in Barcelona, was a carbon copy of the first: a walkover for the British against Alinghi Red Bull Racing (Switzerland) and a very close head-to-head between the Italians and American Magic (United States) which was again decided in favour of the former. Both heats, which are contested in the best of nine races, are tied four to zero.
Despite the equal ending, the two semi-finals had little to do with each other. The comfort of Ineos, who chose Alinghi Red Bull in this round because they won the Round Robin, the first initial phase, contrasts with the suffering of Luna Rossa, who closed the afternoon with the narrowest victory of the entire competition. Only two seconds separated the Italians from the Americans.
The afternoon was marked by another mistake by Alinghi Red Bull in the pre-start (the most important phase of the races due to the difficulty of overtaking during the race). A failure in the flight controller ended with the AC75’s back on the water, allowing Ineos to gain a lead of half a kilometre that was impossible to recover. In the fourth race, the Swiss team started before the Swiss, but the British were ahead after ten seconds and, little by little, increased their distance to add a 4-0 in the semi-finals.
For its part, the Italian Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli confirmed that the problems in the control system of the foil The problems (the fins that allow the AC75s to take off with the same physical inertia that airplanes use to take off) have now been resolved. In the third semi-final, the Italians gradually distanced themselves from the American Magic after a race that started evenly. In the fourth race, Max Sirena’s team overtook their rival over the line after arriving practically together. The American team claimed a punishable maneuver by the Italians for not respecting the right of way, but the judges ruled out any irregular maneuver. With these results, Luna Rossa and Ineos are on the verge of reaching the final of the Louis Vuitton Cup, where they would battle to become the America’s Cup Challenger and challenge Team New Zealand for the title. This Monday, the third day of the semi-finals will be held, perhaps decisive.
