The wound of Max Sirena, the passionate skipper of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli who longs to bring the America’s Cup to Italy, reopened a few minutes into the second race of the first day of the Preliminary Regatta held in Barcelona on the eve of the start of the official competition, on August 29. The current competition, which ends on Sunday, August 25, is considered the start of the America’s Cup, but it has no sporting effect linked to it beyond checking the performance of the teams for the first time. Sirena had the opportunity to overcome the setback suffered in 2021 against Team New Zealand, his rival this Thursday, in the final of the America’s Cup in Auckland: the New Zealanders then kept the Hundred Guineas Jug and Italy, never a winner in the century-old history of the competition, cried over a new disappointment while hoping to one day change the fate of the losers.
Three years after the oceanic battle, in the first official duel between the two squadrons with the AC75 (the 75-foot-high sailing boat with which they must compete), an electrical fault ruined the reconquest. Two minutes into their duel with the Defender (as the defending champions are known), their rematch, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli sank its bow in the middle of a turn after losing control of the boat. kiwis They continued to fly, solemnly above the water, while Sirena lamented on land and her crew tried unsuccessfully to regain the speed of a ship that had been left adrift for a few seconds. The problems for Italy would continue: a few minutes later, the nose would sink again, one of the worst scenarios for ships designed to fly above the surface and minimize contact with the water.
The gap between the last two finalists in the Cup illustrates what many fear a week before the start of the official competition: Team New Zealand seems to be ahead of the rest. It showed itself to be solvent throughout the course (six round trips on the regatta course located in front of Barcelona beach), practically always maintained its flight and reached consistent speed peaks with a wind of around 12 knots.
Fortunately for Sirena and her pupils, the current preliminary race has no real effect on the America’s Cup beyond showing where the teams are after three years of top-secret technological development put at the service of navigation. It takes place this Thursday and Sunday 25th and is the first time that the teams compete with the AC75. In the two previous preliminary races, held in 2023 in Vilanova i la Geltrú and Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), the competition was contested with a smaller boat, the AC40. The problem is that after a long period of waiting and without being able to compare the sporting performance of the AC75 with the rest of the rivals so far, a puncture in the preliminary in Barcelona could raise doubts about the project. The French Orient Express, the last team to join the competition, also showed weaknesses in its two races by showing difficulties in always maintaining flight.
During the preliminary race, four races will be held each day between the six participating teams: Team New Zealand (New Zealand); Ineos Britannia (Great Britain); Luna Rossa (Italy); Alinghi Red Bull Racing (Switzerland); American Magic (USA) and Orient Express (France). The two teams with the most points (each victory gives one point) will compete for the trophy on Sunday in a final duel. In addition to Team New Zealand’s victory over Luna Rossa, American Magic beat Ineos; Alinghi beat Orient Express; and the Italians made up for it against the French in the last race of the day.
The serious business will begin on August 29 with the start of the America’s Cup, which is divided into two phases: the first, a qualifying competition (the Louis Vuitton Cup) in a one-on-one format, from which four semi-finalists will emerge. All teams compete against each other twice, and each victory is worth one point. Team New Zealand, which has qualified directly for the final as the Defender, also competes against everyone, but its races do not count. Four teams qualify for the semi-finals and the last is eliminated. The winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup will face Team New Zealand in the grand final in October.
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