The America's Cup: Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli bounce back to secure place in Louis Vuitton Cup Final

Overnight, the Italian shore team burnt the midnight oil repairing a damaged mainsail traveller track system that had given way in the semi-final race yesterday and gifted the American team a race win to close to 4-3 in this first-to-five series. The Italian shore team heroes were described as looking like ‘zombies’ this morning but their efforts were thoroughly rewarded with the Italian boat gleaming in the Barcelona sunshine, looking good as new and the team regaining its imperious form of earlier in the semi-final.

The win was hard-fought from the initial stages with American Magic’s Tom Slingsby expertly winning the start and making the first cross upwind. A downspeed tack on the second cross was ultimately the undoing of American Magic with the Italians able to power through to leeward and take a lead that they would never lose.

In the shifting south-easterly breeze that filled and phased across a relatively flat sea-state, Luna Rossa initially extended but some great calls on the second upwind leg brought American Magic back in contention and just eight seconds adrift at the mid-way point.

Picking a big pressure patch on the second downwind leg allowed the Italians to extend and for American Magic it was roll-the-dice time on the final windward leg. Unfortunately for them, there were no opportunities to make gains and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli sailed away to record a 61 second final delta and secure their place in the Louis Vuitton Cup Final against INEOS Britannia – scheduled to start on Thursday September 26.

Scenes of jubilation abounded on the water with the Italians releasing the pressure of what has been an intense twenty-four hours for the team. Shoreside at the Official Race Village and at the fanzones at Bogatell and Plaça de Mar, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli fans mirrored the on-water joy with rapturous applause and cheering that continued at the afternoon presentation of the team on the main stage. Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli fans are some of the most passionate of all and will certainly make their presence felt when racing starts in the Louis Vuitton Cup Final.

After the two boats dropped sails, Luna Rossa performed a classy ‘sail-by’, with the Italian crew applauding their American opponents in a sporting gesture very much in the spirit of the Louis Vuitton 37^th America’s Cup.

For NYYC American Magic their journey in the Louis Vuitton 37^th America’s Cup ends today and for the New York Yacht Club, the club that created the event and held the famous ewer for 132 years, the wait goes on for it to return to their West 44^th Street clubhouse in Manhattan.

So, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli secure their spot in their second consecutive Challenger Selection Series Final and after their bounce-back win today will be riding a wave of momentum. Facing them now is a fired-up Challenger of Record, INEOS Britannia who secured their place in the Final yesterday having eliminated Alinghi Red Bull Racing 5-2.

Impossible to pick a winner, it really is anyone’s Final, but as we’ve seen in these sensational Louis Vuitton Cup Semi-Final pairings, anything can happen – and in the America’s Cup, it usually does.

Text and images courtesy of The America’s Cup. To read the full release, visit americascup.com.