Luna Rossa closes the Preliminary Regatta with a victory that goes beyond the result. On the final day it won both fleet races and earned the right to face Emirates Team New Zealand in the final match race. In winds between 11 and 14 knots, Peter Burling, Marco Gradoni, Maria Giubilei and Gianluigi Ugolini put together a practically perfect day, confirming the speed and solidity of the Italian crew.
The final against the New Zealanders was above all a test of control. Luna Rossa started well, took the lead and forced Emirates Team New Zealand to chase. The gap grew to more than 300 meters on the last leg: few concessions, clean maneuvers and a race management that left the opponents little room to come back. Beating the America’s Cup Defender naturally offers no certainty about the future, but it remains a result that counts.
The win completes a path that began in the fleet races, where Luna Rossa finished with four wins out of eight races before prevailing in the final. And it is above all the consistency that makes the result interesting: after the win at the Cagliari Preliminary Regatta, here comes another victory on the road to the 38th America’s Cup.
Around the competition there was also something that Italian sailing does not always manage to generate: enormous public participation. The Race Village, the crowded waterfront, the boats on the water and the audience at the award ceremony turned a technical and complex regatta into a spectacle able to reach far beyond sailing enthusiasts. On the final day, more than 100,000 visits to the Race Village were recorded, a figure that shows the scale the event has reached.
Now, however, it is important to keep a sense of proportion. This was a Preliminary Regatta sailed on AC40s; the 38th America’s Cup in 2027 will be raced on AC75s, different boats, with development programs still open and a level of competition bound to rise. The result therefore does not predict what will happen, but it offers indications about the team’s work, the quality of the crew and its ability to measure itself against the current holder of the Cup.
And this is perhaps the most interesting point. Luna Rossa does not arrive at the next appointment carrying only the expectations that have accompanied the Italian project for years. It arrives after once again beating top-level opponents and after proving it can turn speed and preparation into results.
The road to the 38th America’s Cup is still long and will be much harder. But Luna Rossa has sent a clear signal: Italy is here, it is competitive and it wants to fight for it all the way.
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Alessandro Sicuro
Brand Strategist | Photographer | Art Director | Project Manager
Alessandro Sicuro Comunication
