Luna Rossa 1 beats ETNZ to win the Naples Preliminary final
The Italians led the match race from the first gate and gave Emirates Team New Zealand no way past. It rounded off a weekend in which Luna Rossa 1 was the best boat on the Bay of Naples, and the only principal crew with a woman on board.
Luna Rossa 1 won the match race final of the Louis Vuitton 38th America's Cup Preliminary Regatta on Sunday. Co-helms Peter Burling and Marco Gradoni crossed in 20 minutes 52 seconds, about 17 seconds ahead of Nathan Outteridge and Seb Menzies on Emirates Team New Zealand. Luna Rossa has now won both preliminary regattas of this cycle, and beaten the Kiwis in the final of each.
Nobody in Naples will argue they didn't earn it. The Italians won every practice race, four of the eight fleet races and the fleet series by 15 points, and then the final.
The crew behind the win
Maria Giubilei trimmed behind Burling on the starboard side all weekend. She was the only woman sailing in a principal crew in Naples, and she won the Women's America's Cup with Luna Rossa. In the final she was calling pressure as well as trimming, and the commentators rated her among the quickest trimmers in the Italian camp. Gigi Ugolini trimmed on the port side for Gradoni.
Team boss Max Sirena built this line-up on purpose. He took the best of Luna Rossa's principal, women's and youth squads and put them in one boat. Everyone on board had already won an America's Cup event, whether the Match itself, the Youth America's Cup or the Women's America's Cup. On Sunday they sailed like a crew that had been together for years.
How the final was won
Outteridge and Menzies had the better of the pre-start. They pushed Luna Rossa 1 high and early in the box, split off to the right and led up the first beat. A slow tack cost them the lead. The Italians came through and never gave it back. They slam-tacked on the Kiwis again and again, kept them pinned against the right-hand boundary, and rounded the first gate 10 seconds clear.
Emirates Team New Zealand had the speed to come back. Up the second beat it closed to within 60 or 70 metres, but each time it got close, the Italians tacked on its air. The Kiwis stayed in that dirty air too long on one tack, which let Burling and Gradoni fall back into phase with them and cover. By the second run the gap was more than 200 metres.
On the final beat Luna Rossa 1 sat between the Kiwis and the top gate. Emirates Team New Zealand's last rounding was untidy, and the Italians ran down to the finish with the home crowd cheering from the Lungomare.
The tracker told the rest. The Kiwis had the higher top speed, 42.9 knots to 39.8, but Luna Rossa 1 tacked 25 times to their 23, most of them to cover. Luna Rossa won with boat handling and positioning.
For the Kiwis
This is Emirates Team New Zealand's second final defeat to the same crew. After Race 8 Outteridge said the start would decide the final. His crew won the start and then gave the lead away with one slow manoeuvre. The commentators noted the team has been concentrating on its AC75 at home since Sardinia, and it showed in the tacks. Before the regatta Outteridge called Naples a chance to work on what the team identified in Sardinia. The boat speed is there. The manoeuvres still need work.
New Zealand still takes the Women and Youth trophy home, won by Jake Pye and Erica Dawson. When the two teams next race here it will be in AC75s, and Emirates Team New Zealand's base at Bagnoli is already being built.
➤ Check out our full day report here.
DAY 3, RACE 8Kiwi Women and Youth crew wins the trophy as Luna Rossa takes Race 8
Jake Pye and Erica Dawson won the Women and Youth trophy in the final fleet race in Naples. Peter Burling and Marco Gradoni's Luna Rossa 1 won the race itself, and France finished third overall, one capsize short of a place in the final.
Emirates Team New Zealand's Women and Youth crew won the Women and Youth trophy at the Louis Vuitton 38th America's Cup Preliminary Regatta on Sunday. Jake Pye and Erica Dawson went into Race 8 two points behind Luna Rossa 2. They finished fifth, a place ahead of the Italians, and the two crews ended level on 44 points. The Kiwis took the trophy on countback, helped by their Race 5 win. Luna Rossa 2 had won the same trophy in Sardinia.
Race 8 itself belonged to Luna Rossa 1. With a place in the final already secured, co-helms Peter Burling and Marco Gradoni led at every gate and won by 29 seconds. It was the Italian boat's fourth win from eight races, and it finished the fleet racing 15 points clear.
The final that might have been
La Roche-Posay Racing Team finished second, its fourth top-two result in six races, and climbed to third overall. That was as far as the French got.
Their regatta came down to one gybe. In Race 5 they capsized while leading by 27 seconds on the final run. A win there would have put them on 57 points, two ahead of Emirates Team New Zealand, and into the final against Luna Rossa 1. Before Race 8, co-helm Quentin Delapierre admitted the capsize was still on his mind. "We had a few mistakes through the weekend, but this last race is kind of the last chance for us to show what we can do and what we can achieve," he said.
A final between the Italians and a French crew of Delapierre and fellow co-helm Diego Botín, with Florian Trittel and Kiwi Jason Saunders trimming, would have been one of the matchups of the regatta. The French were quick enough to win in Naples, but they pushed the boat past its limit twice, and it cost them.
The Kiwis made the final instead. Nathan Outteridge's crew was over the line early in Race 8 and took the penalty, then came off the foils at a bottom gate and finished seventh. It was a messy race to sail just before a final, but Emirates Team New Zealand finished the fleet racing second on 56 points.
Outteridge knows where the match race will be decided. "We just got to try and get off the start line a little bit faster than they are," he said afterwards.
Team USA was third in the race and fourth overall on countback, one of four teams tied on 44 points. Next is the match race: Luna Rossa 1 against Emirates Team New Zealand, a rematch of the Sardinia final, which the Italians won. Follow it in our live coverage from Naples.
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇮🇹 Luna Rossa 1: Principal Team | 10 |
| 2 | 🇫🇷 La Roche-Posay Racing Team | 9 |
| 3 | 🇺🇸 ARC Team USA | 8 |
| 4 | 🇬🇧 GB1 | 7 |
| 5 | 🇳🇿 Emirates Team New Zealand Women & Youth | 6 |
| 6 | 🇮🇹 Luna Rossa 2: Women & Youth Team | 5 |
| 7 | 🇳🇿 Emirates Team New Zealand | 4 |
| 8 | 🇨🇭 Tudor Team Alinghi | 3 |
| 9 | 🇬🇧 Cobham-Ultra GB2 | 2 |
| Position | Team | Total pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇮🇹 Luna Rossa 1 | 71 |
| 2 | 🇳🇿 Emirates Team New Zealand | 56 |
| 3 | 🇫🇷 La Roche-Posay Racing Team | 48 |
| =4 | 🇺🇸 American Racing Challenger Team USA | 44 |
| =4 | 🇳🇿 Emirates Team New Zealand Women and Youth | 44 |
| =4 | 🇮🇹 Luna Rossa 2 Women and Youth | 44 |
| =4 | 🇨🇭 Tudor Team Alinghi | 44 |
| 8 | 🇬🇧 GB1 | 42 |
| 9 | 🇬🇧 Cobham-Ultra GB2 Women and Youth | 36 |
Luna Rossa wins Race 7 as Team NZ books its place in the Naples final
Luna Rossa led at every gate of Sunday's first race, and Emirates Team New Zealand's second place was enough to lock in the other spot in the match race final. The Sardinia final will be sailed again, this time off Naples.
Peter Burling and Marco Gradoni's team won Race 7 of the Louis Vuitton 38th America's Cup Preliminary Regatta on Sunday. Luna Rossa 1 led at every gate and finished in 19 minutes 33 seconds, taking the Italians' third race win in Naples. Emirates Team New Zealand was 13 seconds behind.
The Kiwis now have 52 standing points, 11 clear of Tudor Team Alinghi in third. Emirates Team New Zealand are guaranteed a place in the final, alongside Luna Rossa. A repeat of Sardinia. The final is a single winner-takes-all race, so neither side carries its fleet-racing points into it.
Lighter air, left side
Saturday had been gusty, with the wind swinging between 9 and 18 knots. Sunday's sea breeze was softer, around 10 to 12 knots, and patchy. The AC40s could stay foiling through the lulls, but getting from one patch of pressure to the next was the hard part.
The course had changed too. In practice the right-hand side paid dividends on every beat, and that's how Luna Rossa won all three practice races. On Sunday the left paid off. The two Italian crews, who have logged more days on these waters than most, were quick to go that way.
The fleet split for the start, four boats heading left and five right. Burling was aggressive in the pre-start, forcing the British and then the Swiss back and burning off time. Team USA came off its foils near the top of the box and started last. Luna Rossa 1 started at the pin, with GB2 on its hip and Outteridge holding it in for the first few seconds. Once it could tack, the Italian boat had the height and speed to cross the fleet.
Burling rounded the first gate at 3 minutes 18 seconds, five seconds ahead of Outteridge and seven clear of La Roche-Posay Racing Team. The French split away into clean air on the run and were second at the bottom gate, with the Kiwis third after the first lap.
Outteridge sits on the French
On the second beat, France went back to the right looking for pressure, and it cost them. Outteridge slam-tacked on top of Quentin Delapierre and Diego Botín and forced them to tack away. The Kiwis rounded the third gate second, 18 seconds behind Burling, with France now third.
A top-three finish would put the Kiwis in the final, so Outteridge concentrated on keeping France behind him rather than chasing the leader. The crew with Iain Jensen, his 49er partner at the Olympics, sounded more settled with every race. At the last top gate Outteridge hit the layline into the left-hand turn exactly, and the French lost more ground.
Burling was never threatened. His lead reached 350 metres on the second lap. It was down to 13 seconds by the finish, after Luna Rossa 1 came back across to cover the left. Burling said the crew had been worried the sea breeze might be late, and were glad to be racing in it. Asked whether he was already thinking about the final, Marco Gradoni kept it simple. "Our goal was to win it and we managed to do it," he said, adding that the course had been much more open and shifty than in practice.
After a scrappy start to Saturday, the Kiwis finished second, third, second and second.
Further back
France finished third, 44 seconds down. GB1 came through from seventh at the first gate to finish fourth. It was a clean race for a British crew that hasn't had many this week.
Jake Pye and Erica Dawson's Emirates Team New Zealand Women and Youth crew was fifth. They rounded the first gate fifth, slipped to eighth by the third, and gained heavily on the last beat. Dawson had her family on the shore in Naples, including her 11-month-old son. GB2 finished sixth. Luna Rossa 2, fourth at each of the first four gates, faded to seventh.
Alinghi came into the day needing to win both races to reach the final. At the top of the course the umpires penalised the Swiss for getting too close to Emirates Team New Zealand. Kiwi Phil Robertson and his crew finished eighth, 1 minute 49 seconds back, which ended their hopes. Team USA never recovered from the pre-start touchdown and crossed a second behind them in ninth.
➤ Click here for more on how ETNZ reached the final in the Naples Preliminaries.
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇮🇹 Luna Rossa 1: Principal Team | 10 |
| 2 | 🇳🇿 Emirates Team New Zealand | 9 |
| 3 | 🇫🇷 La Roche-Posay Racing Team | 8 |
| 4 | 🇬🇧 GB1 | 7 |
| 5 | 🇳🇿 Emirates Team New Zealand Women & Youth | 6 |
| 6 | 🇬🇧 Cobham-Ultra GB2 | 5 |
| 7 | 🇮🇹 Luna Rossa 2: Women & Youth Team | 4 |
| 8 | 🇨🇭 Tudor Team Alinghi | 3 |
| 9 | 🇺🇸 ARC Team USA | 2 |
Provisional standings after Race 7
| Position | Team | Total pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇮🇹 Luna Rossa 1: Principal Team | 61 |
| 2 | 🇳🇿 Emirates Team New Zealand | 52 |
| 3 | 🇨🇭 Tudor Team Alinghi | 41 |
| 4 | 🇫🇷 La Roche-Posay Racing Team | 39 |
| 5 | 🇮🇹 Luna Rossa 2: Women & Youth Team | 39 |
| 6 | 🇳🇿 Emirates Team New Zealand Women & Youth | 38 |
| 7 | 🇺🇸 ARC Team USA | 36 |
| 8 | 🇬🇧 GB1 | 35 |
| 9 | 🇬🇧 Cobham-Ultra GB2: Women & Youth | 34 |
Provisional, calculated from the Race 7 finishing order. Order among tied teams to be confirmed from official results.
Race 8 decides the rest of the order, with five points covering fourth to ninth. Then comes the final. Luna Rossa beat the Kiwis in the match race in Sardinia. Before this regatta Outteridge said Naples was a chance to work on what the team identified there. He now gets another go at Burling.
DAY 3Racing delayed in Naples: The fleet is waiting for a steadier breeze. Wind across the course has ranged from 4 to 10 knots, with the afternoon sea breeze yet to fill in. Race management has moved the planned start of Race 7 to 2.30pm local time.
Saturday in Naples brought two French wins, another capsize and a breakthrough victory for Emirates Team New Zealand’s Women and Youth crew. Burling still leads, with the Kiwis second. Catch up on the racing in our full day report.
Our picks from Saturday
Most improved: Emirates Team New Zealand Women and Youth. Pye and Dawson were fifth overall at the first preliminary regatta in Sardinia. On Saturday they won a race against the full fleet, and they are sixth overall, ahead of France and both British boats. Last and ninth either side of that win show there's still work to do. Race 5 showed what they can do when it comes together.
Best play: Burling's Race 5 recovery. Nearly nosediving at the first gate and dropping to the back of a nine-boat fleet should have wrecked his race. Instead Luna Rossa 1 worked back through the fleet and finished second, seven points better than last place would have been. Outteridge's right-hand split on the first run of Race 6, which turned an eight-second deficit into the lead, was a close second.
The boat we most enjoyed watching: La Roche-Posay Racing Team. We always watch the Kiwis, and both New Zealand crews gave us plenty. But the French were the most fun to watch. Their roundings were clean and the crew sounded calm on the comms. Their top speed of 47 knots in Race 6 was the fastest in that race's head-to-head. They also took more risk than anyone, and their results show it.
The race for the final
Two fleet races remain before the top two boats meet in a single match race for the regatta win. Peter Burling’s Luna Rossa 1 leads by eight points, leaving the closest fight for the second place in the final.
Emirates Team New Zealand is five points ahead of Alinghi and eight ahead of Luna Rossa 2. France is 12 points behind the Kiwis, but its two wins on Saturday show it can still change the order if it finishes both races.
If the current top two hold their places, the final will repeat Sardinia’s match race, which Luna Rossa won. Before Naples, Nathan Outteridge said the regatta was a chance to work on what the team identified there. First, his crew has to keep its place in the final.
➤ Alinghi face knockout as Naples finale nears, five points adrift
DAY 2, RACE 6France wins Race 6 as Team NZ holds second in Naples
Less than an hour after capsizing out of the lead, La Roche-Posay Racing Team beat Emirates Team New Zealand in a race where the lead changed four times. Nathan Outteridge's second place tightens his crew's hold on a spot in Sunday's final.
La Roche-Posay Racing Team won the last race of Saturday's programme at the Louis Vuitton 38th America's Cup Preliminary Regatta in Naples, less than an hour after capsizing while leading Race 5. Quentin Delapierre, Diego Botín, Florian Trittel and Kiwi Jason Saunders righted the boat, reset and won Race 6 in 20 minutes 23 seconds. It was the team's second win of the day.
Emirates Team New Zealand finished 22 seconds behind. For Outteridge's crew, second place was worth almost as much as a win. The Kiwis went eighth, second, third and second on Saturday, and sit second overall going into the final day.
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A breezier final race
The wind built between races, gusting to 20 knots with a short chop that kept upsetting the AC40s' flight control. Two boats capsized in the break before the start. One was the Emirates Team New Zealand Women and Youth boat, and with a minute to go, Jake Pye and Erica Dawson were still head to wind and going backwards.
Most of the fleet lined up on starboard. Outteridge came in on port, and the commentators reckoned it cost him about two boat lengths. Team USA pushed hard at the right-hand end and was clean through at the gun, but the French had the best speed off the boat end and were quickly in front.
Behind them the first beat was messy. Outteridge tacked onto the right and came out above GB1, only to be tacked on by Luna Rossa. France kept out of the traffic and rounded the first gate at 3 minutes 34 seconds, eight seconds ahead of the Kiwis, with GB1 third. Peter Burling took the other gate to avoid the crowd.
Four lead changes
Outteridge split right on the first run, found more pressure and closed fast. "Look how much we're gaining," he could be heard saying on the onboard audio. The Kiwis rounded the second gate at 6 minutes 31 seconds, a second in front.
The third leg was a tacking duel. The Kiwis picked up a right shift, with Iain Jensen, Outteridge's Olympic 49er partner, calling the breeze from the port trim seat. France came back on the left, and at the next cross the French had right of way. The Kiwis had to duck behind, and France led through the third gate by three seconds.
On the fourth leg Outteridge's crew protested France for coming too close. No penalty was given. The Kiwis still led at the fourth gate, again by three seconds.
France won the race on the fifth leg. The French took the lead back early, were 110 metres clear on the approach to the last gate and rounded 16 seconds ahead. The Kiwis had lost 19 seconds on that leg. The tracker's head-to-head gave France a top speed of 47 knots to New Zealand's 44.7, and two fewer manoeuvres.
Burling was fifth at each of the first four gates. On the last two legs Luna Rossa 1 passed GB1 and Luna Rossa 2, finishing third, 33 seconds down. GB1 was fourth, Luna Rossa 2 fifth and GB2 sixth. Tudor Team Alinghi, with Kiwi Phil Robertson on port helm, started well but finished seventh. Team USA was eighth.
Pye and Dawson, who won Race 5, were ninth. They were already 600 metres behind on the first beat. The graphics showed a boat-on-boat penalty against them on the third leg, and they finished 1 minute 55 seconds down.
Burling leads by eight points with two fleet races to sail on Sunday. Emirates Team New Zealand is five points clear of Alinghi for the second place in the final. If nothing changes, the final will be a repeat of Sardinia, where Luna Rossa beat the Kiwis. Before the regatta, Outteridge said Naples was a chance to work on what the team had identified there.
Saturday's four races went to three different winners. Burling won Race 3, France won Races 4 and 6, and the Kiwi Women and Youth crew won Race 5. The French now have two wins and two retirements from six starts, a week after their AC75 arrived in Bagnoli to begin the team's Naples campaign.
The last two fleet races and the final are on Sunday. We will be back reporting on the final races tomorrow.
DAY 2, RACE 5Team NZ's Women and Youth crew wins Race 5 in Naples
La Roche-Posay (France) led at every gate, then capsized on the final run. Jake Pye and Erica Dawson were close enough to take over, and gave New Zealand its first race win of the regatta.
Emirates Team New Zealand's Women and Youth crew won Race 5 of the Louis Vuitton 38th America's Cup Preliminary Regatta in Naples on Saturday. It was the first win by a New Zealand boat in Naples, and the first by any Women and Youth crew. Jake Pye and Erica Dawson crossed in 19 minutes 18 seconds, 12 seconds ahead of Peter Burling's Luna Rossa 1. Nathan Outteridge's principal crew made it two Kiwi boats on the podium in third.
France's capsize handed them the lead, but only because they were already in position to take it. Pye and Dawson were second at four of the five gates and never more than 27 seconds off the French. Two races earlier they had finished last.
"We started off pretty rough, but we feel like we're getting ourselves back in the race," Pye told the broadcast. Dawson called it their best race of the day, and said the crew had finally been able to sail their own lanes. After practice day, Pye had promised the team had "more to offer". This crew finished fifth at the first preliminary regatta in Sardinia, and it has now won a race.
A pile-up at the top
The breeze was up to 16 to 18 knots at the start. GB1 picked up a penalty against Team USA before the gun. Hannah Mills tacked GB2 out to the right early, and La Roche-Posay Racing Team used the same pressure to take the lead on the first beat.
The first gate turned into a pile-up. France rounded at 3 minutes 26 seconds, three seconds ahead of Luna Rossa 1. Burling's crew nearly nosedived in the turn and held up the boats behind. The umpires had protest flags from every direction, and both British boats were penalised for getting too close to each other. Luna Rossa 1 dropped to the back. Outteridge's crew had been last through the gate but, by taking the other gate, stayed out of the mess.
Pye and Dawson came through it in second. Team USA pushed them hard up the third leg and briefly got ahead. At the fourth gate the Americans came off their foils in the turn and Luna Rossa 2 had to swerve to avoid them, which dropped Team USA from third to fifth. GB2 had already touched down at the second gate and fallen to last.
A second French capsize
France looked in control. Delapierre, Diego Botín, Florian Trittel and Kiwi Jason Saunders took every rounding cleanly and started the final leg 27 seconds clear. Botín and Trittel won 49er gold together at the Paris Olympics, and their calls on the comms were a big part of the lead.
Then, on what was probably their last gybe, near the boundary, the boat flew too high, lost speed and tipped slowly onto its side. It was the team's second capsize in two days, a race after its first win of the regatta. The broadcast confirmed all four sailors were safe.
Pye and Dawson finished off the race with a clean gybe of their own. Burling kept coming after them. Fourth at the final gate, Luna Rossa 1 ran down both Team USA and Outteridge on the last leg to take second. The recovery from the back of the fleet keeps Burling well clear at the top of the table.
Team USA was fourth. Tudor Team Alinghi, with Kiwi Phil Robertson on port helm, was fifth. GB1 was sixth, GB2 seventh and Luna Rossa 2 eighth, after sitting fourth for much of the race. France retired.
DAY 2, RACE 4France leads every gate to win Race 4 in Naples
A day after capsizing on the start line, La Roche-Posay Racing Team beat Emirates Team New Zealand by seven seconds as penalties tore through the chasing pack.
A day after capsizing at the start of Race 2, La Roche-Posay Racing Team led Race 4 of the Louis Vuitton 38th America's Cup Preliminary Regatta at every gate. Quentin Delapierre and Diego Botín crossed in 19 minutes 56 seconds, seven seconds ahead of Emirates Team New Zealand. Kiwi Jason Saunders trims for the French alongside Florian Trittel.
Most of the fleet had a rough start. Nathan Outteridge's crew pushed Luna Rossa 1 into a pre-start penalty, then took one of its own on the first beat for getting too close to Team USA. The Americans had come off the line in front, but were given a double penalty in the same incident. GB1 was penalised soon after for fouling them. The French stayed on the right-hand side in clean air and rounded the first gate seven seconds up on GB2.
At Thursday's press conference, Delapierre had said the AC40 was "all about the trust between the four guys on board". After practice day, Botín admitted they hadn't sailed it since Cagliari. After the win, Delapierre called the fleet "super close in terms of performance".
Outteridge closes in
Outteridge was sixth at the first gate and second by the third. He clawed back about 10 metres on the approach, but France still turned seven seconds clear. Luna Rossa 1 climbed from sixth to third and passed the Kiwis on the run, then made a rare error at the bottom gate.
Alinghi's double penalty
That rounding cost Tudor Team Alinghi more. The Swiss went through the fourth gate second, but took too much room as windward boat with Outteridge pressing from below. They were penalised twice and dropped to fifth.
Phil Robertson and Paul Goodison won it all back within a leg. They briefly nosed ahead of France before rounding the fifth gate second, four seconds down. On the final leg they sailed well out of bounds and were penalised again. Outteridge went through to second and held it, with Alinghi third.
Jake Pye and Erica Dawson brought the New Zealand Women and Youth crew home fourth, a race after finishing last. Luna Rossa 2 was fifth, two seconds ahead of Luna Rossa 1, which ended Burling's two-race winning run. Team USA was seventh, GB2 faded to eighth and GB1 finished last.
Alinghi has now finished second, second and third, and sits second overall behind Burling.
DAY 2, RACE 3Luna Rossa wins Race 3 in Naples as New Zealand boats slip back
Peter Burling and Marco Gradoni make it two wins from two, while Alinghi and GB1 climb through the fleet on Saturday.
Peter Burling and Marco Gradoni won again on Saturday, taking Race 3 of the Louis Vuitton 38th America's Cup Preliminary Regatta in Naples. Luna Rossa 1 finished the course in 18 minutes 41 seconds and now leads the regatta by nine points.
The opening was busy. Luna Rossa 1 and Team USA swapped the lead, with GB1 and La Roche-Posay Racing Team right in the mix. Burling reached the first gate two seconds ahead of GB1, then used the shifts to stretch away. The lead was seven seconds at gate two and 20 at gate three.
Burling said getting around that first mark in front had been crucial. "It was pretty light there at the top and being able to get away from there just made the race super easy," he told the broadcast.
Tudor Team Alinghi finished 29 seconds back in second, after rounding the first two gates in sixth. It was the Swiss crew's second runner-up finish in a row after coming last in Race 1. They are now tied on 20 points with Luna Rossa 2 and Team USA.
GB1 bounced back too. The British principal crew had finished eighth in both of Friday's races, but sat second at three of the five gates and held on for third. Its sister boat, Cobham-Ultra GB2, was seventh.
A tough race for New Zealand
On Friday, Emirates Team New Zealand's two boats finished Race 2 a second apart in third and fourth. Saturday's opener went the other way.
A penalty just after the start left Nathan Outteridge's principal crew playing catch-up. The Women and Youth crew came off its foils rounding the first gate and lost touch with the fleet. Outteridge's crew had worked up to seventh by the final gate, but lost 44 seconds on the last leg and was passed by GB2. The two boats finished eighth and ninth, 1 minute 41 seconds and 1 minute 44 seconds behind the winner.
Team USA, Friday's Race 1 winner, was fifth. France ran second or third through the first three gates before fading to sixth, a solid race a day after its capsize.
Luna Rossa 1 leads on 29 points. Emirates Team New Zealand's principal crew has 17 and its Women and Youth crew 13, with three races still to come on Saturday.
DAY 2 LIVEDAY 2 WEATHER REPORTLooking at the PredictWind report for this afternoon, we have enough wind so the racing should start on schedule today!
DAY 1 SUMMARYNaples Preliminary Regatta: the Day 1 verdict
After two abandoned attempts in light wind, Team USA won the first race of the Naples regatta. Luna Rossa answered with a win in Race 2, while the order behind them changed considerably.
Our pick for best play: Team USA winning Race 1. This was the American crew’s first points race of the Cup cycle. Harry Melges and Lucas Calabrese took the lead on the opening beat, kept their manoeuvres clean and finished 18 seconds ahead of Luna Rossa. They had arrived late to the campaign and dealt with a breakdown before racing. On the water, they looked settled.
Our pick for most improved: Tudor Team Alinghi. The Swiss finished ninth in Race 1, then fought Luna Rossa for the lead early in Race 2. They took second, 21 seconds behind Peter Burling and Marco Gradoni. Team USA’s move from first to seventh in the same two races shows how little one result tells us about the pecking order.
The boat we most enjoyed watching: Cobham-Ultra GB2. Hannah Mills and Ellie Aldridge brought Britain’s Women and Youth boat home third in Race 1. Sixth in Race 2 was a tougher result, but GB2 still beat the principal GB1 crew (we suspect GB1 is carrying injuries from its pre-regatta collision during training) in both races. GB2 has 13 points to GB1’s six, the widest gap between teammates in the three two boat camps.
Luna Rossa’s principal crew also beat its Women and Youth boat twice and leads that contest 19 points to 13. Emirates Team New Zealand’s principal crew leads its second boat 14 to 11. That score hides the closest finish of the day: the New Zealand Women and Youth crew held third for much of Race 2, before the principal crew passed on the final run. One second separated them at the line.
Luna Rossa leads the regatta on 19 points. Emirates Team New Zealand and Team USA follow on 14 each.
DAY 1, RACE 2
Burling and Gradoni win Naples Preliminary Regatta Race 2 for Luna Rossa
Luna Rossa leads the standings after a clean win, while Emirates Team New Zealand’s two boats finish one second apart.
Peter Burling and Marco Gradoni won Race 2 of the Naples Preliminary Regatta for Luna Rossa, finishing 21 seconds ahead of Tudor Team Alinghi. Behind them, Emirates Team New Zealand’s principal crew passed its Women and Youth teammates on the final run to take third by one second.
The result puts Luna Rossa at the top of the standings after two races. It also reversed much of the order from Race 1: Alinghi went from ninth to second, while opening race winner Team USA finished seventh.
French capsize at the start of Naples Race 2
La Roche-Posay Racing Team’s AC40 capsized at the start. The French boat was over the line and turned sharply to get back. Its rudder came clear of the water, leaving the crew unable to steer through the manoeuvre.
The team righted the boat, but the results record it as DNS, with no points.
Luna Rossa holds off the Swiss
Alinghi briefly led on the first beat as the breeze shifted across the course. Burling and Gradoni took the lead before the first gate, then kept the Swiss boat behind them.
The two crews pulled clear of the fleet. Alinghi pressed throughout, but Luna Rossa covered its moves and held on to win. It was a strong response after finishing second to Team USA in Race 1. “Awesome to finally get some racing,” Burling said after the finish. He praised the crew’s work in the stronger breeze and said they were looking forward to building through the rest of the regatta.
The New Zealand Women and Youth crew held third for much of the race. On the final run, Nathan Outteridge’s principal crew found the speed to pass them just before the line. The boats finished 49 and 50 seconds behind Luna Rossa respectively.
Naples Preliminary Regatta standings after two races
Luna Rossa leads with 19 points. Emirates Team New Zealand and Team USA both have 14, with the New Zealand crew listed second. The Italian Women and Youth crew and Cobham-Ultra GB2 follow on 13 points each.
Four fleet races are planned for Saturday, one more than originally scheduled.
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇮🇹 Luna Rossa 1: Principal Team | 10 |
| 2 | 🇨🇭 Tudor Team Alinghi | 9 |
| 3 | 🇳🇿 Emirates Team New Zealand | 8 |
| 4 | 🇳🇿 Emirates Team New Zealand Women & Youth | 7 |
| 5 | 🇮🇹 Luna Rossa 2: Women & Youth Team | 6 |
| 6 | 🇬🇧 Cobham-Ultra GB2 | 5 |
| 7 | 🇺🇸 American Racing Challenger Team USA | 4 |
| 8 | 🇬🇧 GB1 | 3 |
| 9 | 🇫🇷 La Roche-Posay Racing Team DNS | 0 |
| Pos | Team | Total pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇮🇹 Luna Rossa 1: Principal Team | 19 |
| 2 | 🇳🇿 Emirates Team New Zealand | 14 |
| 3 | 🇺🇸 American Racing Challenger Team USA | 14 |
| 4 | 🇮🇹 Luna Rossa 2: Women & Youth Team | 13 |
| 5 | 🇬🇧 Cobham-Ultra GB2 | 13 |
| 6 | 🇨🇭 Tudor Team Alinghi | 11 |
| 7 | 🇳🇿 Emirates Team New Zealand Women & Youth | 11 |
| 8 | 🇬🇧 GB1 | 6 |
| 9 | 🇫🇷 La Roche-Posay Racing Team | 5 |
Team USA wins first Naples Preliminary Regatta race after two abandonments
American Racing Challenger Team USA led from the opening beat to claim the first points on offer in Naples.
After two attempts at Race 1 ended in fading wind, the breeze finally arrived in the Bay of Naples. American Racing Challenger Team USA made the most of it, winning the opening race by 18 seconds from Luna Rossa’s principal crew.
The wind had shifted markedly before the third start. All nine AC40s approached the line on starboard tack, foiling at speeds of around 30 knots. GB1 crossed early and received a penalty, while the Americans found a clear lane and moved into the lead on the first beat.
Team USA sets the pace in Naples
Co-helms Harry Melges and Lucas Calabrese led at the first gate. Luna Rossa, with Peter Burling and Marco Gradoni at the helms, gave chase, but could not close the gap. Team USA sailed cleanly through its manoeuvres and extended its lead as the fleet spread across the course.
“We’re stoked,” Melges said after the finish. He also revealed that the team had started the day with a breakdown, which its shore crew fixed in time for racing.
Luna Rossa finished second, followed by Cobham-Ultra GB2, sailed by Hannah Mills and Ellie Aldridge. Luna Rossa’s Women and Youth crew completed the leading group in fourth.
New Zealand crews finish fifth and seventh
Emirates Team New Zealand’s principal crew challenged near the front early in the race but slipped to fifth. Its Women and Youth boat finished seventh, behind La Roche-Posay Racing Team.
The result puts Team USA at the top of the Naples Preliminary Regatta standings with 10 points. Luna Rossa has nine, and GB2 has eight. More fleet racing is scheduled before the regatta winner is decided on Sunday.
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇺🇸 American Racing Challenger Team USA | 10 |
| 2 | 🇮🇹 Luna Rossa 1: Principal Team | 9 |
| 3 | 🇬🇧 Cobham-Ultra GB2 | 8 |
| 4 | 🇮🇹 Luna Rossa 2: Women & Youth Team | 7 |
| 5 | 🇳🇿 Emirates Team New Zealand | 6 |
| 6 | 🇫🇷 La Roche-Posay Racing Team | 5 |
| 7 | 🇳🇿 Emirates Team New Zealand Women & Youth | 4 |
| 8 | 🇬🇧 GB1 | 3 |
| 9 | 🇨🇭 Tudor Team Alinghi | 2 |
| Pos | Team | Total pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇺🇸 American Racing Challenger Team USA | 10 |
| 2 | 🇮🇹 Luna Rossa 1: Principal Team | 9 |
| 3 | 🇬🇧 Cobham-Ultra GB2 | 8 |
| 4 | 🇮🇹 Luna Rossa 2: Women & Youth Team | 7 |
| 5 | 🇳🇿 Emirates Team New Zealand | 6 |
| 6 | 🇫🇷 La Roche-Posay Racing Team | 5 |
| 7 | 🇳🇿 Emirates Team New Zealand Women & Youth | 4 |
| 8 | 🇬🇧 GB1 | 3 |
| 9 | 🇨🇭 Tudor Team Alinghi | 2 |
Light wind ends second attempt at Race 1 in Naples
Emirates Team New Zealand’s two AC40s held first and second places as the fleet approached the top gate in the second attempt at Race 1. Then the principal crew fell off its foils, and the breeze faded across the course.
The restart had looked promising. Several boats were foiling without tow lines before the start, and Tudor Team Alinghi got away well. As the fleet worked upwind, the New Zealand boats moved through, with the principal crew leading its Women and Youth teammates.
The principal crew lost its lead when it dropped off the foils during a tack near the top of the course. Alinghi moved back ahead, but the Swiss boat soon faced the same problem as the wind eased. Boats across the fleet slowed, leaving too little breeze to race downwind.
The race committee abandoned Race 1 for a second time. The New Zealand crews are reviewing what they learned from the attempt, while Team USA has taken a snack break. The fleet remains on the water, waiting for the breeze to rise.
GB1 leads before light wind forces Race 1 abandonment in Naples
GB1 led at the top gate of the opening race in Naples, but the fleet never reached a finish. The race committee abandoned Race 1 as the breeze faded and boats struggled to stay on their foils.
The wind was patchy from the start. There was a reported around eight to nine knots near the top of the course, falling to about five knots at the bottom. Finding pressure mattered more than holding a place in the early order.
La Roche-Posay Racing Team moved into the lead, then lost ground when it dropped off its foils near the top gate. GB1 found enough breeze to stay flying through the gate and moved ahead. Downwind, even the British boat struggled to make progress as more of the fleet slowed or came to a stop.
Emirates Team New Zealand’s principal crew was among the boats that came off the foils. Its Women and Youth crew also found patches of pressure and made ground before racing stopped.
The abandonment leaves the nine boats without a Race 1 result or points. The fleet must wait for enough steady wind to start again.
Emirates Team New Zealand’s Women and Youth crew has managed a full leg on the foils without a tow. Racing remains on hold while the fleet waits for the wind to build.
Racing was scheduled to start at 2pm in Naples, but the fleet remains on hold while the wind builds to the 7.5 knot minimum. The latest from the commentators is that the wind remains inconsistent; it comes up and goes down again.
The Louis Vuitton 38th America's Cup Preliminary Regatta Naples
The Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta brings nine AC40s to the Bay of Naples. Official racing begins on Friday 25 September, following practice racing on Thursday. It is the second preliminary regatta of this Cup cycle and the first competitive racing on the waters that will host the America’s Cup in 2027.
Six America’s Cup teams are represented. Emirates Team New Zealand, Luna Rossa and Britain’s GB1 each have two boats entered, including a Women and Youth crew. The Swiss, French and American teams have one boat each. Team Australia is absent from this regatta.
Three fleet races are scheduled for Friday, three for Saturday and two for Sunday. Friday’s racing is scheduled to begin around 2pm in Naples, midnight in New Zealand.
For the official English language coverage, Niall Myant-Best is the lead commentator. Shirley Robertson, Odile Lambriex van Aanholt and Aussie match racer Cole Tapper joined him for the Naples preview show.
The week before racing
Naples formally welcomed the America’s Cup teams at a ceremony on Nisida on Tuesday. Across the water at Bagnoli, work continued on the bases for the 2027 Cup. On the racecourse, the crews prepared for conditions that could prove harder to read than those they met in Sardinia. Wind shifts around Posillipo and the waterfront were already a talking point among the sailors.
Tudor Team Alinghi arrived with Kiwi Phil Robertson on port helm. Skipper Paul Goodison said the Swiss boat had become more reliable through training. GB1’s preparations took an unexpected turn in Naples when its AC40 was damaged in a collision during training. Thursday then gave the fleet its clearest form guide: Peter Burling’s Luna Rossa 1 won all three official practice races, at times building a lead of about 500 metres. Practice results carry no points, but the performance put the Italian crew firmly in view before Friday’s first scoring race.
Weather watch
Friday 25 September: Light and changeable wind is the main concern ahead of the opening fleet races on the Bay of Naples. Showers and thunderstorms are possible, while the forecast calls for brighter spells later. Crews will be watching whether the afternoon breeze reaches the AC40’s 7.5 knot starting threshold. The race committee will make that call using measurements on the course.
Saturday 26 September: The city forecast is sunny and around 26°C. The marine forecast still indicates light winds, so the teams will be carefully watching the conditions.
Sunday 27 September: Mostly sunny conditions and a high near 26°C are forecast. Wind remains the point to watch for the last two fleet races and the match race final.
The New Zealand interest
Who are the Kiwis racing in Naples? Alongside Emirates Team New Zealand’s two crews, New Zealand sailors are aboard Luna Rossa, Tudor Team Alinghi and La Roche-Posay Racing Team.
Emirates Team New Zealand
Emirates Team New Zealand enters two crews. Nathan Outteridge and Seb Menzies helm its principal boat, with Andy Maloney and Iain Jensen trimming. Jake Pye and Erica Dawson helm its Women and Youth boat, joined by Serena Woodall and Josh Armit. The principal crew finished runner up at the first preliminary regatta in Sardinia, losing the final to Luna Rossa.
Kiwis on the Naples racecourse
The New Zealand interest reaches well beyond the two Emirates Team New Zealand boats. Nine New Zealand sailors are in the named AC40 crews, spread across four teams.
| Boat | New Zealand sailors aboard |
|---|---|
| Emirates Team New Zealand Principal crew |
Co-helm Seb Menzies and trimmer Andy Maloney |
| Emirates Team New Zealand Women and Youth |
Co-helms Jake Pye and Erica Dawson; trimmers Serena Woodall and Josh Armit |
| Luna Rossa 1 Principal crew |
Co-helm Peter Burling |
| Tudor Team Alinghi | Co-helm Phil Robertson |
| La Roche-Posay Racing Team | Trimmer Jason Saunders |
The name to watch across team lines is Burling. He won three America’s Cups at the helm of Emirates Team New Zealand before joining Luna Rossa. He now races against his former team in the Italian boat. Robertson gives the Swiss challenger a Kiwi at the helm, while Saunders brings New Zealand experience to the French crew.
Emirates Team New Zealand skipper Nathan Outteridge and trimmer Iain Jensen are Australian.
Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta Naples teams and crews
Nine AC40s from six America’s Cup teams will race in Naples. The table below lists each boat’s two helms and two trimmers, including the three Women and Youth crews.
| Boat | Co-helms | Trimmers |
|---|---|---|
| 🇳🇿 Emirates Team New Zealand Principal crew |
Nathan Outteridge Seb Menzies |
Andy Maloney Iain Jensen |
| 🇳🇿 Emirates Team New Zealand Women and Youth |
Jake Pye Erica Dawson |
Serena Woodall Josh Armit |
| 🇮🇹 Luna Rossa 1 Principal crew |
Peter Burling Marco Gradoni |
Maria Giubilei Gianluigi Ugolini |
| 🇮🇹 Luna Rossa 2 Women and Youth |
Margherita Porro Massimiliano Antoniazzi |
Giovanni Santi Maria Vittoria Marchesini |
| 🇬🇧 GB1 | Dylan Fletcher Ben Cornish |
Bleddyn Mon Andrea Tesei |
| 🇬🇧 Cobham-Ultra GB2 Women and Youth |
Hannah Mills Ellie Aldridge |
Matt Beck Sam Webb |
| 🇨🇭 Tudor Team Alinghi | Paul Goodison Phil Robertson |
Nicolas Rolaz Pietro Sibello |
| 🇫🇷 La Roche-Posay Racing Team | Quentin Delapierre Diego Botín |
Jason Saunders Florian Trittel |
| 🇺🇸 American Racing Challenger Team USA | Harry Melges IV Lucas Calabrese |
Hans Henken Michael Menninger |
Note: Luna Rossa changed its boat numbering after Sardinia. Peter Burling’s principal crew races as Luna Rossa 1 in Naples, while the Women and Youth crew races as Luna Rossa 2. Burling’s winning boat was labelled Luna Rossa 2 in Sardinia.
A look back at Sardinia
The first preliminary regatta of the 38th America’s Cup cycle took place off Cagliari in May. Eight AC40s raced across three days, giving the teams their first competitive measure of one another before Naples.
Luna Rossa left Sardinia with both titles. Its Women and Youth crew, led by Marco Gradoni and Margherita Porro, won that classification after leading the overall fleet standings for much of the regatta. A disqualification in the seventh race and an early start in the eighth ended its chance of reaching the match race final.
The final instead brought Peter Burling’s Luna Rossa crew up against Emirates Team New Zealand, helmed by Nathan Outteridge and Seb Menzies. The New Zealand boat incurred an early start penalty. Luna Rossa took the lead and held it to win the regatta, leaving the defender as runner up. Emirates Team New Zealand’s Women and Youth crew finished fifth.
Naples adds a new boat to that comparison: American Racing Challenger Team USA will race at a preliminary regatta for the first time this cycle.
