Trading punches at Louis Vuitton Cup (original) (raw)

Published on September 30th, 2024

Barcelona, Spain (September 30, 2024) – The decision to utilize the first Reserve Day of the Louis Vuitton Cup proved to be a far-sighted one by Race Director, Iain Murray, as perfect conditions greeted INEOS Britannia and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli today for the fourth day of their epic, locked-in battle to win the Louis Vuitton Cup.

The ‘Garbi’ south-westerly wind was in, and, crucially, just below the wind-limit of 21 knots. With relatively flat water, the two starts both got underway on time with the series tied at 2-2 at the start of the day.

The British Challenger of Record, INEOS Britannia, took the tally to 3-2 after an opening race start in which the Italian boat fell off its foils. The Luna Rossa sailors quickly recovered, but the Britannia crew started ahead and stayed ahead.

But any momentum from that hard-fought British victory was effectively negated at the end of the second race, in which the wind clocked further to the south-west making getting ahead at the start paramount to gaining control. Luna Rossa came off the line to windward and after an initial drag race to the left boundary, bailed out first and arm-wrestled their way back to the right boundary.

With right-of-way advantage, Luna Rossa capitalized on the tack back and – with INEOS Britannia now to leeward – metre-by-metre they eked into a lead that they would never give up.

“I think the racing really showed how evenly matched the boats are in those conditions,” noted Dylan Fletcher, port helm for INEOS Britannia. “It was kind of won or lost on the start. In that second one we thought we should’ve done enough, but they managed to work a nice little shift on that right hand side and that just seemed enough to get ahead – but it’s close action.”

For Francesco Bruni, the port helm for Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, there was an air of confidence having kept it close in the first race and then stepped out in the second. “Well definitely we felt that we have some speed. The boat is going well. We are very pleased with the performance of the boat and how we are going.

“A little mistake in that first start, where we felt that we had a good position and you know it takes very little to lose control of these boats. So I think we are optimistic about how things are going, but we know it’s going to be a very hard battle.”

Talking about the splashdown in the pre-start of the first race today, Bruni confirmed that one of the foils went into ‘cavitation’, but when further asked just how this contest will be decided, he added: “I think it’s going be consistency until the end. It’s going to be a big battle for sure, it’s not going to be easy, but we are we are ready for the fight, and we like to fight.”

All tied now at 3-3, racing in the Louis Vuitton Cup Final series continues tomorrow with two more races scheduled to begin at 1400 CET, when more breezy conditions are expected.

Viewing details – Race information – Results – Weather forecast

Following the publication of the AC37 Protocol and AC75 Class Rule on November 17, 2021, the AC75 Class Rule and AC Technical Regulations were finalized on March 17, 2022. The entry period was from December 1, 2021 until July 31, 2022, but late entries for the 37th America’s Cup could be accepted until May 31, 2023. The Defender was to announce the Match Venue on September 17, 2021 but postponed the reveal, finally confirming Barcelona on March 30, 2022. The 37th America’s Cup begins October 12, 2024.

Teams revealed to challenge defender Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL):
• INEOS Britannia (GBR)
• Alinghi Red Bull Racing (SUI)
• Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team (ITA)
• NYYC American Magic (USA)
• Orient Express Racing Team (FRA)

2023-24 Preliminary Regattas
September 14-17, 2023 (AC40): Vilanova i la Geltrú, Spain
November 30-December 2 (AC40): Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
August 22-25, 2024 (AC75): Barcelona, Spain

2024 Louis Vuitton Cup Challenger Selection Series*
August 29-September 9: Double Round Robin
September 14-19: Semi Finals (Best of 9)
September 26-October 7: Finals (Best of 13)

*Team New Zealand competes in the round robin stage only, but the results of their races were not included in the challenger leaderboard.

2024 America’s Cup
October 12-27: 37th Match (Best of 13)

For competition details, click here.

Additionally, 12 teams will compete in the Youth America’s Cup and Women’s America’s Cup.

Noticeboard: https://ac37noticeboard.acofficials.org/
Event details: www.americascup.com/en/home

Source: ACE, Scuttlebutt

Tags: America's Cup, LVC37