Luna Rossa beats American Magic and flies into the LV Final against INEOS Britannia
by Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli 20 Sep 2024 03:22 NZST
18 September 2024
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli progess to the Louis Vuitton Cup Final - 19th September 2024 © Ricardo Pinto / America's Cup
For the fifth time, after the editions of 2000, 2007, 2013 and 2021, Luna Rossa will compete in the final of the Challenger Selection Series. Today the Italian crew defeated the American team with a 5-3 score and will confront INEOS Britannia in the final elimination phase of the Louis Vuitton Cup.
It was a great satisfaction for the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team as it went on to score its fifth and final point of these semifinals against the USA team. Today's victory has been even sweeter, after the colossal effort from the team - particularly the shore team - that worked all night to repair the damage to the mainsail control system, cause of their defeat in the second match yesterday.
"Today is a positive day because we finally closed the series with American Magic, and it was more challenging than expected" said Max Sirena, Skipper and Team Director of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli. "But in the end, this is the beauty of sport and the America's Cup, where nothing comes easy. We learned a lot from these eight races, and we will use this knowledge in the final races. Today's victory is certainly thanks to the sailing team but also to the shore team, who worked until nine this morning to fix the damage from yesterday and allowed us to be at our best with a 100% reliable boat. Now we'll take half an hour to relax, and then we'll get back to work."
MATCH #08 - USA vs ITA
The final match of the semifinals took place in a southerly 7-12 knot wind which was more than enough to keep the AC75s on their foils. Right after the start Luna Rossa moved in front and took to the right side of the course, rounding gate 1 with a 20-second lead, keeping the same gap at the downwind gate. In the second beat the gap narrowed to 8 seconds, with the race becoming close. At this point full credit to the Italian crew that kept its cool and controlled the opponent without mistakes or unnecessary risks. Luna Rossa continued to stretch its lead up to over 500 meters and crossed the finish line with over a minute of advantage, thus securing its well-deserved spot in the Louis Vuitton Cup final.
Luna Rossa's crew today featured Jimmy Spithill and Francesco Bruni at the helm, with Umberto Molineris and Andrea Tesei as trimmers. The cyclors on board were Enrico Voltolini, Bruno Rosetti, Cesare Gabbia and Emanuele Liuzzi.