Luna Rossa puts Naples to the test

This is neither a feature article nor a marketing piece: Preliminary Race 2, taking place from 24 to 27 September, is a preview of the America’s Cup, which begins on 22 May. It is certainly more of a test run for the organisers, to gauge the city’s reaction (though we’ll go ahead and say it: it’ll be fantastic) and to trial the new facilities. Starting with the Race Village, the beating heart of the event: situated at the Rotonda Diaz (also known as Mappatella Beach), it stretches along Via Francesco Caracciolo, on the Mergellina seafront, which will be closed to traffic for the occasion. From there, spectators will be able to watch the AC40s set sail and return as they race across the gulf: these are one-design boats, meaning they all share identical specifications, unlike the AC75s of the America’s Cup, which are capable of speeds exceeding 45 knots.

The crews will compete in a series of eight fleet races: three races a day starting at 2 pm, in quick succession. The two boats with the highest scores in the standings will progress to the final, which will be a single-race decider. It could not be simpler. But only on the surface, because whilst the results of the Preliminary Races should not be taken as gospel, in Cagliari – at the May event – the final showdown took place between the ‘first-choice’ crews of Luna Rossa and Emirates Team New Zealand, with the former emerging victorious. This is because a new rule was introduced for the 38th Louis Vuitton America’s Cup: a team may enter two crews (each with two helmsmen and two trimmers) for the AC40 races. One crew can be composed without any restrictions, whilst the other must consist solely of members from the respective women’s and youth teams, who act as a ‘reserve squad’ in the run-up to the main event. At Luna Rossa, the big news in Naples is the promotion of the talented Roman Marco Gradoni to the Senior Team – known as Luna Rossa 1 – which is effectively seeking to oust Ruggero Tita, a two-time Olympic gold medallist, as helmsman alongside Peter Burling, who is, of course, untouchable. Not all the challengers, however, have managed to field two boats: the organisational structure and resources of the long-established, historic America’s Cup contenders have come to the fore. Thus, Luna Rossa, Emirates Team New Zealand and GB1 (the British Challenger of Record) fielded two crews in Sardinia and will do so again in Naples, whilst the Swiss Tudor Team Alinghi and the French La Roche-Posay Racing Team fielded only one. The latest addition, bringing the list of entrants to nine, comes from the American Racing Challenger Team USA: it has taken over the entire operation of American Magic, starting with the AC75 Patriot, which had shown remarkable performance on several occasions in Barcelona. The team’s engineers are currently refurbishing it at their base in Pensacola, Florida.

Leading the challenge – funded by a British investor, Chris Welch, and the Czech billionaire Karel Komarek, who recently attempted to acquire the Ferretti Group – is American icon Ken Read, whilst the sailing director is the British sailor Giles Scott, a two-time Olympic gold medallist and four-time world champion in the Finn class. They are not to be underestimated, as the crew can count on a talented helmsman in Lucas Calabrese, an Argentine of Italian origin who has become an American citizen and has won an Olympic bronze in the 470 class and no fewer than five world titles across four different classes. The only team missing from the line-up will be the Australians, who have chosen the highly experienced Grant Simmer as CEO: this is also a symbolic move, as he was part of the legendary winning campaign of ‘Australia II’ in 1983 at Newport, when it snatched the Old Jug from the Americans for the first time in history. Team Australia – which has purchased the winning boat from the 36th America’s Cup from its not-so-beloved New Zealand ‘cousins’ – can count on two champions: Tom Slingsby (Olympic gold medallist in the Laser class and twice World Sailor of the Year), who is dominating the SailGP circuit at the helm of Bonds Flying Roos, and Glenn Ashby, a master of multihulls and two-time America’s Cup winner. The former is Head of Sailing, whilst the latter holds the role of Head of Performance & Design. Ashby, incidentally, knows us well: he is responsible for the design of the mast, sails and rigging of the Ferrari Hypersail, the Prancing Horse’s foiling monohull. Once again, he is a very dangerous (home) enemy

When it comes to the opponents they’ll face, Max Sirena (who is simultaneously team director, skipper and CEO of Luna Rossa) has no doubts (just like us and many others, for that matter): Emirates Team New Zealand is the team to beat. “For a start, they’re the defending champions, so they’re already in the final without having to lift a finger, and that’s no small advantage. What’s more, they are culturally devoted to sailing – which is their national sport – and have built a core team and a winning culture. We’re trying to do the same. They’re the team to beat, but before we race against New Zealand, we have to beat the others.” True, but let’s repeat it: just as in Formula 1 motor racing, you can have the best drivers, but the car matters (more and more). And on this point, the Kiwis rarely get the design wrong.