There were three races on the final day, and Luna Rossa 1 won all three: both fleet races, then the match race final against Emirates Team New Zealand. The Kiwis still went home with a trophy, and La Roche-Posay Racing Team with plenty to think about.
Luna Rossa won all three practice races on Thursday, and it finished the Louis Vuitton 38th America's Cup Preliminary Regatta the same way. On Sunday co-helms Peter Burling and Marco Gradoni won Races 7 and 8, then beat Emirates Team New Zealand in the final. The Italians have now won both preliminary regattas this cycle, and both times it was the Kiwis they beat in the final.
Saturday had been gusty, with the wind swinging from 9 to 18 knots. Sunday's sea breeze was lighter and patchier, around 10 to 12 knots, building to about 15 by the final. In practice the right-hand side had paid on every beat. On Sunday it was the left, and the Italians, who spent July training on the bay, were among the first to go there.
The Kiwis qualify, then lose the final
Emirates Team New Zealand needed a solid morning and got one. Nathan Outteridge and Seb Menzies finished second in Race 7. On the second beat they slam-tacked on the French, forced them away, and spent the rest of the race keeping them behind. That left them 11 points clear of Tudor Team Alinghi with one race to go, so their place in the final was safe.
With nothing riding on Race 8, they sailed it that way. They were over the line at the start, came off the foils at a bottom gate and finished seventh.
The final started much better. The Kiwis won the pre-start, pushing Luna Rossa 1 high and early, and led up the first beat. Then a slow tack let the Italians through. From there Burling and Gradoni tacked on top of them every time, kept them pinned against the right-hand boundary and never gave them clean air. Emirates Team New Zealand had enough speed to close to 70 metres on the second beat, but not enough to get by. Luna Rossa 1 won by about 17 seconds.
It's the Sardinia result again. The Kiwis had the pace in Naples. They lost the final on manoeuvres, and against a crew handling the boat as well as Luna Rossa was, that was decisive.
France and the one that got away
La Roche-Posay Racing Team finished third and second on Sunday and climbed to third overall. It nearly went over again at a bottom gate in Race 8, but the trimmers caught it this time.
The French regatta turned on Race 5. Quentin Delapierre and Diego Botín's crew were 27 seconds clear on the final run when a gybe near the boundary tipped the boat onto its side. A win in that race would have given France 57 points to Emirates Team New Zealand's 55, and a place in the final against Luna Rossa. Before Race 8, Delapierre admitted the capsize was still on his mind.
A French–Italian final would have been good to watch. The French had the speed all weekend. The scorecard let them down: a capsize on Friday, another on Saturday, and two retirements.
Pye and Dawson take the Women and Youth trophy
Jake Pye and Erica Dawson won the Women and Youth trophy. They were fifth in both Sunday races. In Race 8 they finished a place ahead of Luna Rossa 2, which had won the Women and Youth title in Sardinia. The two crews finished level on 44 points, and the Kiwis took the trophy on countback thanks to their Race 5 win. Dawson's family, including her 11-month-old son, were on the shore to watch.
Elsewhere in the fleet
Alinghi went into Sunday needing to win both races. In Race 7 the Swiss were penalised for getting too close to Emirates Team New Zealand, finished eighth, and were out of contention. Team USA touched down before the start of Race 7, started last and finished ninth. It came back to take third in Race 8, which put it fourth overall on countback in a four-way tie on 44 points.
Our picks from Sunday
Most improved: GB1. The British boat was damaged in a collision with a RIB during practice. It finished eighth in both races on Friday and was penalised repeatedly on Saturday. It then finished fourth in each of the last three races.
Best play: Luna Rossa 1's cover in the final. Once in front, Burling and Gradoni kept the Kiwis on the short side against the boundary and tacked on their air every time they closed. The Kiwis had the higher top speed, but that cover won the final. Outteridge's slam tack on France in Race 7, which made sure of the Kiwis' place in the final, was a close second.
The boat we most enjoyed watching: Luna Rossa 1. The Italians won everything on Sunday, and they earned it. Team boss Max Sirena put the best sailors from Luna Rossa's principal, women's and youth squads into one boat. Maria Giubilei, the only woman in any principal crew in Naples, trimmed behind Burling and called the pressure, while Gigi Ugolini trimmed for Gradoni. Between them they barely put a foot wrong all day.
Final fleet racing standings
| Pos | Team | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luna Rossa 1 (won final) | 9 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 71 |
| 2 | Emirates Team New Zealand | 6 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 56 |
| 3 | La Roche-Posay Racing Team | 5 | RET | 5 | 10 | RET | 10 | 8 | 9 | 48 |
| =4 | American Racing Challenger Team USA | 10 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 44 |
| =4 | Emirates Team New Zealand Women and Youth (Women and Youth trophy) | 4 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 44 |
| =4 | Luna Rossa 2 Women and Youth | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 44 |
| =4 | Tudor Team Alinghi | 2 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 44 |
| 8 | GB1 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 42 |
| 9 | Cobham-Ultra GB2 Women and Youth | 8 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 36 |
Points per race: 10 for a win, dropping one point per place. RET: retired. Shaded rows mark the two finalists; Luna Rossa 1 beat Emirates Team New Zealand in the match race final. Four teams tied on 44 points are listed in the order given on the broadcast; official countback order to be confirmed.
Luna Rossa 1 won the match race final. Tied teams are listed in the order given on the broadcast. Official countback order to be confirmed.
What Naples says about 2027
The Match next year will be sailed in AC75s, not AC40s, so none of this settles anything. But Luna Rossa knows this water, has depth right through its squads and has now beaten the defender in two finals in a row. Emirates Team New Zealand has the speed and needs to sharpen its boat handling. The French, if they can keep the boat upright, will be dangerous.
The Kiwis' base at Bagnoli is under construction, and the French AC75 is already in Naples. The next time these teams race on the bay, it will be in the big boats. Catch up on Saturday's racing and our Day 1 editorial.
