Italy clinched victory in the first America’s Cup preliminary regatta on Sunday, beating defenders New Zealand in a demonstration of speed and resilience on home waters.
After eight fleet races between eight boats over three days, Luna Rossa’s principal crew came out top of the leaderboard, three scant points ahead of New Zealand in second, to set up a head-to-head final between the long-time rivals.
The winning Italian crew was co-helmed by Ruggero Tita and Pete Burling, who jumped ship from New Zealand to Luna Rossa after lifting the America’s Cup for a third time with the New Zealand in Barcelona in 2024.
Photo: EPA
Sunday’s final “match race” began badly for the New Zealand crew, co-helmed by Nathan Outteridge and Seb Menzies, who were penalized for being over the line at the start.
A one-sided contest ensued, with Italy making the most of champagne sailing conditions with flat seas and a consistent breeze to control the race, sailing almost flawlessly and not giving the New Zealand yacht any opportunity to pass.
The preliminary regatta in Cagliari, Sardinia, was the first in a series of warm-up events ahead of the 38th America’s Cup itself which is to be contested in Naples, Italy, next year.
Teams from New Zealand, Italy, Britain, France and Switzerland all entered crews in the event, with late entrants Australia and the US sitting out.
Crews included the women’s and youth teams in a single event for the first time, pitting sailors from the same teams against each other as they put their skills to the test in four-person AC40s, smaller versions of the AC75 foiling monohulls in which the cup itself would be contested next year.
The British first team’s hopes of making a mark in the Mediterranean were dashed by technical problems on the first two days of the regatta, although a first and a third position on the final day were welcome consolation prizes.
Italy’s women and youth crew, who had set the early pace in the regatta, ended up third overall on the weekend leaderboard only one point behind New Zealand, showing the depth of the home team’s squad and their potential for the women’s and youth events which are be held in the summer of next year.
France placed fourth, New Zealand’s women and youth team placed fifth and Switzerland sixth overall, with the two British crews filling the final two positions.
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