Luna Rossa Senior won the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta in Naples after beating Emirates Team New Zealand Senior by 17 seconds in the winner-takes-all final match race.
The Italian crew, helmed by Peter Burling and Marco Gradoni, had already secured its place in the final by winning both of the concluding fleet races. Emirates Team New Zealand, led by Nathan Outteridge and Seb Menzies, took the other place in the two-boat decider after the eight-race fleet series.
The result completed three days of AC40 racing on the Bay of Naples, from 25 to 27 September. It was the second preliminary regatta of the 38th America’s Cup cycle and gave Naples its first taste of what is to come when the Cup returns to the Gulf of Naples in 2027.
Luna Rossa turn fleet-race lead into victory
The format gave the leading two crews after eight fleet races a separate match-race final, rather than awarding the regatta solely on the fleet standings. Luna Rossa therefore needed to convert its strong series into a head-to-head win against New Zealand.
According to Sailweb’s final-day results, Luna Rossa won race seven ahead of Emirates Team New Zealand and La Roche-Posay Racing. That result confirmed both senior crews’ places in the final before race eight. Luna Rossa then won the last fleet race too, with La Roche-Posay second and ARC Team USA third.
Luna Rossa reported that its senior boat stayed in front from the start in race eight and finished almost 20 seconds clear of the rest of the fleet. The team’s account said that performance came despite its place in the final already being secure, underlining the consistency it carried into the deciding contest.
Luna Rossa said its boat began the final a boat length ahead and maintained control through the upwind leg. The team reported that it continued to cover Emirates Team New Zealand downwind, with its margin increasing through the gates before it crossed the line 17 seconds in front.
Burling and Gradoni were joined aboard Luna Rossa Senior by trimmers Maria Giubilei and Gianluigi Ugolini. Emirates Team New Zealand’s final crew comprised Outteridge and Menzies on the helm, with Andy Maloney and Iain Jensen trimming.
The result followed a fluctuating middle day in Naples. Luna Rossa had led after the first six races, while La Roche-Posay showed pace with victories in races four and six. The French crew’s prospects were damaged in race five, however, when it capsized on the final gybe while leading, allowing New Zealand’s youth and women crew to take that race.
That sequence underlined the narrow margins in the fleet racing, but Luna Rossa’s two wins on the final day left it with both the best route into the decider and the eventual regatta trophy.
Preliminary result, with Britain represented
For British readers, British entries GB1 and Cobham-Ultra GB2 raced during the Naples regatta. Sailweb reported that GB1, helmed by Dylan Fletcher, recorded a third place in race three on the second day, while GB2 raced in the same fleet programme. Neither British crew reached the final, which was restricted to the top two teams after the eight fleet races.
As Dylan Fletcher said after the second day, the end goal lay beyond this event. That context matters when assessing Luna Rossa’s success: the Italian crew has produced a clear result in the latest preliminary competition.
Luna Rossa also had a second achievement in Naples. Its youth and women crew finished second in its dedicated standings after ending level on points with New Zealand’s equivalent crew. Luna Rossa said New Zealand took that title on the tiebreak after finishing ahead in the final race.
For the senior Italian crew, though, the defining outcome was more direct. Victory in race seven secured the final opportunity, and Luna Rossa then won race eight before beating Emirates Team New Zealand in the decider.