Peter Burling and Marco Gradoni led Luna Rossa 1 to wins in all three official practice races on the Bay of Naples on Thursday, a day before the Preliminary Regatta of the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup begins.
A sea breeze of 10 to 12 knots from 210 degrees arrived in time for the 14:00 CEST start, and the AC40s went past 30 knots on both upwind and downwind legs. The Italian boat, with Maria Giubilei and Gigi Ugolini trimming, started cautiously each time and then took control. The crew read the shifts well and stayed on the right side of the course as the wind turned from south to southwest, and in some races they led by as much as 500 metres.
“For sure, both teams managed the day very well,” said Luna Rossa coach Simone Salva, who also pointed to a one-two for the Italian boats in the second race.
American Racing Challenger Team USA, helmed by Harry Melges IV and Lucas Calabrese, finished second overall on the day. “We’re all pretty happy with how the day went,” Calabrese said. “Obviously, we’d be kidding ourselves if we think this is it, right?”
Emirates Team New Zealand finished third despite poor starts. “Once or twice we didn’t get out of the start very well and then you are dictated to a little bit,” trimmer Iain Jensen said.
Further back, GB1, Tudor Team Alinghi, La Roche-Posay Racing Team and Cobham-Ultra GB2 treated the day as a chance to learn. “I think we were pretty rusty today,” said GB1 skipper Dylan Fletcher. Alinghi and La Roche-Posay were slowed by errors and penalties. GB2 skipper Hannah Mills OBE said her crew “actually had some really strong starts,” even though the results did not show it.
Three races are scheduled for Friday from 14:00 CEST, and tougher conditions are forecast.
