Meccaferri Futura: here is the new dream team to challenge the ocean

It is no longer just a sporting challenge, it is a cultural revolution that speaks Italian in a sea dominated by the French. The 2026 season of Maccaferri Futura was presented today in Milan, Luca Rosetti’s Class 40 which aims straight for excellence. The news that shakes the pier is the entry of two big guns: Francesco “Checco” Bruni, America’s Cup legend who took part in three Olympics, and Alberto Bona, in the role of Performance Specialist. The project was born from a vision of Sergio Iasi, President of Officine Maccaferri, who transformed the competition into a sustainability manifesto: “Ours cannot be just a sporting project. Maccaferri has always been a sustainable company and we have applied this philosophy to the construction of the boat. When we are not competing we are a mobile platform for the acquisition of data on ocean waters”. Rosetti does not hide his ambition: “We were novices compared to other amateurs, but now we have the potential to win every regatta. We feel the whole company on board.”

bruni’s experience

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Checco Bruni’s enthusiasm is contagious. Despite a career at the top of the world, he lives this new adventure with the hunger of a rookie: “I feel like a kid again, ready to learn. I was rooting for them like crazy, I watched the races on the computer at inappropriate times of the night under the astonished eyes of my wife. I really wanted to get into this new adventure.” Bruni, who will leave his role on board in the America’s Cup to move on to that of coach, will dive into the oceanic fray as early as the February training sessions in Portugal. At his side, Alberto Bona will bring the technical rigor necessary for the regatta of regattas: the Route du Rhum. “I want to put all my experience into making Luca use 100% of the boat,” declared Bona, underlining how the skipper’s preparation is the key to winning solo.

the challenge to the French masters

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The team has clear ideas: the objective is to undermine the hegemony beyond the Alps. “The French are starting to get angry,” explains Bona, “There is a revolution underway. We Italians have always been mavericks, they have always been a group, but now we are too. I am enthusiastic about the 2026 calendar, a real escalation of adrenaline: from the February training sessions in Cascais, Portugal, to the culmination of November 1st with the Route du Rhum. It is the “Carrot Regatta”, a legendary event that starts from Saint-Malo and arrives in Guadeloupe: 3,500 miles alone with incredible media pressure and unforgiving weather conditions.”

Road to Guadeloupe: the 2026 calendar The season will be a continuous climb towards the key event on November 1st: February/March: Training in Cascais (Portugal). April/May: Spi Ouest-France and La Trin’40. June/July: CIC Normandy Channel Race and Round Ireland Race (where the night “lasts nothing”). November 1st: Route du Rhum, the legendary transatlantic from Saint-Malo to Guadeloupe. Furthermore, the Maccaferri Futura project aims to involve the public on land too with the “Futurists” podcast, designed to talk about sailing in a transversal way.