The Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta, Sardinia, came to a thrilling crescendo on Sunday evening with Luna Rossa’s senior team being crowned overall Preliminary Regatta champions before an adoring, and simply huge crowd on the main stage in the Race Village. It was a Luna Rossa lock-out with their outstanding Women’s & Youth team lifting the divisional trophy to massive cheers and scenes of elation.
Sardinia, and the port city of Cagliari sparkled, playing perfect hosts to a thrilling regatta in this, the first stop on the ‘Road to Naples.’ All the teams came with their own private hopes and ambitions relative to their trajectory in this short America’s Cup cycle. For many it was a chance to ‘check in’ and to gauge the scale of the task ahead of them, for others it was all about winning. Over the three days, across the eight boat fleet, we saw five different individual race winners underling the competitiveness of all the teams and sailors.
Let’s go team-by-team in order of the final standings:
LUNA ROSSA 2 – PRINCIPAL TEAM
The overall winners, Luna Rossa 2 came good right when it mattered most and the pressure was on. Going into the final day ahead of two fleet races, Peter Burling & Ruggero Tita knew that they had to perform. Scoring a second place and a first, secured their place in the final after a display that was top class. Going into the match-race final, they showed racecraft of the highest order in keeping Emirates Team New Zealand astern and with few options after a stellar start that saw them stretch to an immediate 100 metre lead. CEO of Luna Rossa, Max Sirena, will have been pleased with their performance and the crew gelled better and better as the regatta evolved. Having spent so much time in a modified AC40 in the lead-up, the crew combination took time to settle but ultimately they showed their world-class abilities that are undeniable, and secured the win in front of their adoring hometown fans.
EMIRATES TEAM NEW ZEALAND 1
Always the benchmark in the America’s Cup, ETNZ were the team to beat and the ultimate measure of pace. The lead-up to Sardinia had been dominated by training sessions aboard the team’s AC75 ‘Taihoro’ in Auckland, so it was a remarkable result for them to be so consistent and challenging the more practiced Italian and British teams. Race wins came early and cemented their position as front-runners but it was hard work in a competitive fleet. Nathan Outteridge skippered the boat with young sensation, and newly crowned 49er World Champion, Seb Menzies, on co-helm and they gelled well with the experience of Iain Jensen and Andy Maloney on trim. A mis-calculation on time-on-distance in the match-race final ultimately cost ETNZ the chance to challenge for the overall win but the signs are positive and they will go to Naples at the end of September for the second Preliminary Regatta with something to prove.
LUNA ROSSA 1 WOMEN & YOUTH
The headline-grabbers from the outset, Luna Rossa 1 created all the storylines early for this Preliminary Regatta. An opening race win underlined their potential and credentials with skipper Marco Gradoni and co-helm Margherita Porro, with Giovanni Santi and Maria Giubilei looking polished and practiced from the outset. After the first two days of racing they sat clear on the leaderboard after displaying tactical nous beyond their years and experience and proving the adage that ‘if you are good enough, you are old enough.’ The team looked unstoppable but on Sunday, the final day, the team unravelled with two OCS calls and a DSQ as they pushed for points to secure a coveted, and arguably rightful, place in the match-race final. It didn’t happen, despite Herculean efforts in the final fleet race, but the pack were in no mood to offer up passing lanes and the team failed to reach their destiny. Disappointed obviously, but the rest of the fleet have a new benchmark in AC40 racing, such was their pace and height and they will be one to watch come Naples at the second Preliminary Regatta at the end of September.
LA ROCHE-POSAY RACING TEAM
Undoubtedly one of the most popular teams in this America’s Cup cycle, La Roche-Posay Racing Team signalled their intent early with a second place in the opening race but faded to midfield until the final day where they came alive in tactical and boatspeed conditions. Led by skipper Quentin Delapierre with new signing, Olympic gold medallist Diego Botín, on co-helm and the experienced Jason Saunders combining with Diego’s Olympic crew-member Florian Trittel, the team took a while to gel and get their communications working – especially in the bigger breezes. Some spectacular nose-dives and boat handling escapades will be something that the team will iron out in the coming weeks ahead of Naples, but this is a team with huge potential and the ability to show devastating turns of speed aligned with tactical brilliance. You simply could not take your eyes off La Roche-Posay Racing Team here in Sardinia as they split tactics, sniffed-out windshifts and called incredible laylines from the boundaries. With more time in the boat, everyone is expecting the French to be fast and fighting for the podium in the second Preliminary Regatta.
EMIRATES TEAM NEW ZEALAND WOMEN & YOUTH
An extremely likeable and ambassadorial crew led by skipper Jake Pye, co-helm Erica Dawson and trimmers Josh Armit and Serena Woodall signalled just how fast, and good, the next generation of Kiwi talent is. Overall, they were always towards the front of the midfield and regularly pushed the podium sitters hard. Time in the boat has been limited with the ETNZ programme focussing on the AC75 development but they showed remarkable improvement from the outset scoring a fourth in the breezy Race 3 and then a memorable third on the tricky opening race of Day 2. The senior team owe a debt of gratitude to their Women & Youth team for holding off the charge of Luna Rossa 1 in the final race and the team leave Cagliari with plenty of take-aways and undeniable potential and speed to be exploited in the coming days. They will be pushed hard by the senior team and coaches Ray Davies and Sam Meech in the lead up to the Naples Preliminary Regatta and could well challenge for race wins there. One to watch, for certain.
ATHENA PATHWAY
A regatta that saw an incredible high, and a few lows, Athena Pathway showed their potential and took away a lot of learnings from Cagliari. Having trained on the waters for several weeks in the lead up, hopes were high of a strong performance but in the opening races on day one, with the breeze in, the crew combination struggled for consistency and communication in the sea state. However, with more benign and tactical conditions on day two, Athena Pathway looked far more composed and will take a race win in Race 5 away as complete proof that they have what it takes to compete at this ultra-high level. Once ahead, they showed incredible racecraft and front-running skills to extend away, picking the shifts and pressure phases remarkably well to score a memorable win that lifted the team immeasurably. In review they will be ruing missed opportunities on the racetrack and tactical boat-on-boat mistakes but with new faces like 20-year-old Sam Webb, and Olympic gold medallist Ellie Aldridge competing in their first America’s Cup regatta, the positives are all to the upside. Skipper Hannah Mills OBE and Youth America’s Cup sailor Matt Beck know the level required and the coming weeks will be intense as the team look to go to the next level.
TUDOR TEAM ALINGHI
The Swiss came into the regatta looking to simply take steps forward having had limited practice at their temporary base in Barcelona preceding the regatta. A completely new team, skipped by Paul Goodison with Phil Robertson on co-helm, Pietro Sibello and Nicolas Rolaz on trim, initially looked fast with a third in the opening race but discovered they were running a restricted foil flap angle range which was corrected overnight by their shore team. Day 2 was tough as they bedded in the new moding of the AC40 and a grounding in the sand with both foils down on the scheduled fly-by hampered their progress alongside communication issues onboard. Improvements came on the final day with Tudor Team Alinghi up with the leaders and challenging. More time on the water for this new team, and some significant upgrades in sails and foils before Naples will see the Swiss far more competitive. They have incredible talent and a world-class shore team, so expect to see them as the ‘dark horses’ going forward.
GB1
A difficult regatta for the Challenger of Record, GB1, who battled boat issues from the very outset after showing incredible form in both the unofficial and official practice racing that preceded the event. Having sat out the first two races with a traveller sheave issue, skipper Dylan Fletcher and co-helm Ben Cornish came out smoking on the third race of Day 1 and secured a second place. Unfortunately, a foil flap issue kept the team from sailing on Day 2, but their Shore Team did a stellar job working overnight to get GB1 back for the final day where they sign-posted their mega-ability in dramatic fashion. In the opening fleet race of the final day, GB1 were a class apart, seizing the lead early from a crowded pack and tearing away to a statement victory. They followed up with a close-call third against the French in the final race and will leave Cagliari with their heads held high. Everyone knows just how fast they are, and how unfortunate they were with boat issues. By the time Naples and the second Preliminary Regatta comes around, the expectation is that GB1 will be challenging for the outright win.
