Luna Rossa left no doubt in Naples. On the final day of the Louis Vuitton 38th America's Cup Preliminary Regatta, the Italian challenger won the last two fleet races and then dismantled Emirates Team New Zealand in the Match Race final, never once headed at a marker buoy across all three races.
Tens of thousands lined the Race Village, with thousands more watching from boats on the water. By the end, both were in raptures.
Peter Burling and Marco Gradoni, sailing with Maria Giubilei and Gianluigi Ugolini, delivered a masterclass right when it mattered most. The AC40 simply had no weak points all day.
The first fleet race set the tone. Luna Rossa stretched into a lead of several hundred metres almost immediately, leaving them free to control the race from there. Behind them, Emirates Team New Zealand had to fight hard against La Roche-Posay Racing Team just to secure second and a place in the match-race decider.
The French were sharp again, just as they had been on Saturday. It took the Kiwis all five legs to hold them off, eventually finding tactical leverage on the final windward leg to gap away. By then Luna Rossa was already gone.
The second fleet race mattered little for the top two, but Burling and Gradoni wanted total dominance anyway. They led from the start, went hard to the right-hand boundary, and never looked back. Behind them, the real fight was for the final podium spot and the Women & Youth title.
Tudor Team Alinghi, third overnight, faded after the opening windward leg. La Roche-Posay pounced, showing the boatspeed and communication that had impressed all weekend, though they could never close on the Italians. Luna Rossa took the win, La Roche-Posay took third on the podium, celebrating hard as they crossed.
Further back, Emirates Team New Zealand Women & Youth and Luna Rossa 2 were locked together to the finish. Jake Pye and Erica Dawson shadowed Margherita Porro and Max Antoniazzi down the final leg, the two boats neck and neck almost to the line. The Kiwis gybed right on the finish and took the title, a clear marker for the Women's and Youth America's Cup next year.
Then came the final everyone wanted.
Luna Rossa came in from the left of the start line, Emirates Team New Zealand ten seconds behind on the right. Nathan Outteridge, with Seb Menzies co-helming, tried to dictate the early exchanges, hunting a hook to leeward that never quite stuck. Forced to tack away to the starboard end, the Kiwis watched Luna Rossa cross at full pace and take control.
From there, Burling and Gradoni covered relentlessly, pinning ETNZ in dirty air leg after leg. Every tactical split the Kiwis tried, the Italians answered.
By the final upwind leg, Luna Rossa led by more than 200 metres. Gradoni took the wheel for the last bear-away, and the margin only grew, out to 350 metres down the run. The crowd barely needed to hold its breath. Luna Rossa sailed a perfect final layline to take the gun and the regatta overall.
Gradoni was elated afterwards. "Today was a big day for our team, and I think we managed to finish the job that we started since the practice racing, and many months ago when we started this journey with Pete, Maria, and Gigi," he said. "I think we showed to the world that at this event, we were the best by far, and I'm super happy with the result."
He also reflected on a difficult finish in Sardinia back in May 2026. "It's a big emotion to me because me and Maria suffered a lot some months ago, and it's really nice to see all the supporters there at the main stage cheering us... I think Luna Rossa has a big chance to win the America's Cup."
Outteridge was philosophical in defeat. "We really were a lot better prepared for it in terms of the match racing side of things and probably compromised a little bit of our fleet racing performance to focus on the match racing," he said. He pinpointed the crucial moment. "Pete and the Luna Rossa guys did a good job of dragging the game quite low. And when you drag it low, time disappears quite quickly, and by the time we tacked, we were late for the boat."
Jake Pye was satisfied but pragmatic after the Women & Youth win. "I'm happy with the result, but definitely we had a few hiccups," he said, before turning his attention forward. "I am looking to the future for the Youth America's Cup, but also, I'm going to be there to try and play my part and push these guys as hard as I can into the America's Cup."
Quentin Delapierre praised his La Roche-Posay crew's structure despite two capsizes across the weekend. "We show some really nice strengths through the weekend, but unfortunately, we did not achieve consistent boat handling," he said.
Lucas Calabrese was upbeat about ARC Team USA's rollercoaster regatta. "It kind of felt like a rollercoaster to me," he admitted. "Overall, super positive. I think we ignited the spark now in the team."
Paul Goodison was blunt about Tudor Team Alinghi's near miss. "I'm sitting here now really frustrated. We were one gybe away from a good result," he said, adding that the week had still shown real progress in stronger conditions.
Dylan Fletcher, of GB1, was already looking past Naples toward the bigger prize. "The goal is to win the America's Cup next year," he said, pointing to the urgent need to get the team's AC75 out on the water.
