Sailing: America’s Cup trials, New Zealand still the crew to beat

Spain, and precisely Vilanova i la Geltrù, is ready to host the first stage of the approach to the 37th America’s Cup scheduled from September 2024 in Barcelona. The six teams: Emirates Team New Zealand, Ineos Britannia, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, American Magic, Alinghi Red Bull Racing, Orient Express Racing Team, from Friday 15th to Sunday 17th September, will compete in 8 fleet races and a final match race between the first two crews of the general classification which will anoint the winner of the event. The crews will compete in the two Prelimiary Races scheduled this year (after Vilanova the appointment is in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from 29 November to 2 December) on the AC40 (12 metres) monotype flying hulls smaller than the AC 75, the boats which will be used in the America’s Cup.

Kiwis to beat

—

In the test regattas held over the past weekends in Barcelona, ​​which were necessary to fine-tune the on-board software and the organization at sea, the Kiwis confirmed themselves as the crew to beat. The Cup holders, led by the two helmsmen Peter Burling and Nathan Outteridge (an Australian who lives in Auckland) when they were in command of the regattas, proved to be almost impregnable and if instead they found themselves caught in the middle of their opponents they were very skilled at overtaking. Ineos Britannia: the English in the test races suffered from the lack of specific training on the AC 40. The helmsmen Ben Ainslie and Giles Scott always made excellent starts, but their maneuvers, not flawless, especially downwind, cost them precious ranking positions. However, the Challenger of Record remains a very strong team that could surprise everyone in Vilanova. American Magic: The Americans chose not to participate in the first test races in order to complete their foil and sail testing program. When they joined the other teams they proved to be very fast both upwind and downwind (together with Alinghi they are the team with the most hours of training on the AC 40). Tom Slingsby and Paul Goodison are a great coxswain duo with lots of experience racing foiling boats.

Italians

—

Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli: in the test races Patrizio Bertelli’s team deployed Francesco Bruni and James Spithill at the helm and Andrea Tesei and Umberto Molineris as sail adjusters. Ruggero Tita (Nacra Olympian), Marco Gradoni and Vittorio Bissaro (who recently announced that he is leaving the Olympic classes to dedicate himself only to the Cup) have also been called up for this event, and it is not excluded that they could alternate during the event. The Italian crew impressed in some starts and for their ability to extricate themselves when the start of the regatta was not brilliant. Francesco Bruni is a great expert in foiling (second world champion of the Moth class) together with Spithill they form a close-knit couple especially after the experience gained in the 2021 Cup during which Luna Rossa was the only team to use the double helmsman, chosen which will prove to be a great advantage over the other crews also in view of the actual America’s Cup regattas. Alinghi Red Bull: Ernesto Bertarelli after having won the America’s Cup twice (Auckland 2003, Valencia 2007) decided to try again and started doing things at the top. To reduce the gap with the other teams he purchased “Te Aihe ‘” from New Zealand, the first of the AC 75s launched by the Kiwis for the last Cup. The Swiss immediately established their headquarters in Barcelona to be able to study the weather conditions of the Catalan capital, and purchased two AC 40s for training and the development of foils and on-board systems. The learning process on these flying boats was accelerated thanks to the inclusion in the Swiss team of coaches of the caliber of Pietro Sibello (former mainsailmaster and tactician of Luna Rossa) and Dean Barker (former helmsman of American Magic). Arnaud Psarofaghis and Maxime Bachelin, the two Swiss helmsmen, are definitely at ease on these boats and could be among the candidates for the final match race. Orient Express Racing Team: The French have only recently received their AC40 and the two helmsmen Quentin Delapierre and Kevin Peponnet are the ones who have the least experience on these boats but will not fail to fight to bring home some victories. The opening ceremony of the event is scheduled for September 14th at 7pm in the regatta village set up in the marina. Italian sailing enthusiasts will be able to follow the regattas on TV broadcast live on 15, 16 and 17 September from 3.30pm on Mediaset channel 20 and on dedicated Sky channels (Sky Sport 258 & Sky Sport Max).