Naples will host the second Preliminary Regatta of the Louis Vuitton 38th America's Cup cycle and the final regatta of 2026. Set against Mt. Vesuvius and the Castell d'Ovo, the city's waterfront is set to draw sailing fans from around the world to what shapes up as the most gripping racing the cycle has produced so far.
The first Preliminary Regatta, held in Sardinia, delivered far more drama than most had bargained for. What looked at the outset like a straightforward opportunity for Youth & Women America's Cup sailors to announce themselves turned into something considerably more complicated. Experience and hard-won class carried the day, with Luna Rossa's principal team taking victory and establishing a new standard in AC40 fleet racing. The Youth & Women contingent have since made their position clear: Naples is where the ledger gets balanced.
Plenty of unresolved questions are following the fleet south. Challenger of Record GB1 showed exceptional speed in Sardinia before gear failure dropped them from the overall standings, and they are expected to line up in Naples as a considerably more formidable proposition. Athena Pathway banked a race win and brings genuine belief into the next event. Emirates Team New Zealand reached the final but will have revisited their mistimed starting run many times since, fully aware of what it ultimately cost them. Tudor Team Alinghi arrived in Sardinia having had only a few weeks to prepare, yet still showed they carry real pace. La Roche-Posay Racing Team were a consistent presence throughout and know exactly what the competition requires.
Sardinia also put two names firmly on the map. Marco Gradoni and Margherita Porro, sailing for Luna Rossa, were among the most electric performers across the regatta's opening two days before losing momentum on the Sunday. Their speed and racecraft registered clearly with the rest of the fleet. In Naples, with a home crowd filling the shoreline and the water, the two young Italian sailors will be carrying the expectations of thousands, and the desire for redemption will be hard to separate from their preparation.
Two additional teams lend a new dimension to the Naples event. American Racing Challenger Team USA have been building steadily, piecing together a squad that marries youth with experience and completing trials in Pensacola, Florida. Under the direction of double gold medallist Giles Scott as Director of Sailing, the American team will be measuring themselves against the world's best in AC40 fleet competition for the very first time when they arrive in the Bay of Naples.
Team Australia, led by world-renowned sailor and former America's Cup winner Tom Slingsby, are doing everything within their power to also secure a place on the startline in Naples.
If both teams make it, the occasion would be genuinely historic. It would mark the first time all four nations that have ever held the America's Cup, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Switzerland, have raced together on the same course, competing for the same prize. Under those circumstances, a win in Naples would carry an exceptional weight of meaning.
Luna Rossa will arrive carrying the full burden of home-nation expectation, and they will know the rest of the fleet is coming to Naples at full stretch. In Sardinia, team CEO Max Sirena spoke of performing in front of home supporters as a "privilege," and the pressure the team faces in Naples will be considerably greater still. In a fully equalised one-design AC40 fleet, past results provide no guarantees. Every team on the water holds a genuine chance of winning, and that uncertainty is precisely what makes PR2 such a compelling prospect.
Official Practice Racing begins on Thursday 24th September 2026. Fleet racing opens on Friday 25th September 2026, with the first three races scheduled to start at 2pm CEST. Three more fleet races follow on Saturday 26th September, and Sunday 27th September concludes with two fleet races before a one-on-one Final between the top two boats closes out the regatta.
For spectators on shore, Naples is shaping up to deliver something special. A free-to-enter Race Village will bring fans closer to the sailors, the boats, and the energy that makes the America's Cup unlike any other event in the sport.
With racing unfolding directly on the Bay of Naples, the shoreside programme will feature live dock-out and dock-in shows, local musical entertainment, generous viewing areas, and a full range of food, drink, and merchandise. The combination of venue, competition, and occasion is unlikely to be matched anywhere else in world sailing.
The stakes reach well beyond the points table. Places in the AC75 programmes remain open to every sailor on the water, and a strong result in Naples carries consequences that will echo through the remainder of this America's Cup cycle. As the competition has always made plain to those who take part in it, there is no second.
