Special America’s Cup, the six teams at the start: who gets the Jug?

The “show down” time is about to begin, now all the teams have to put their cards on the table, there is no more time for strategies, it’s time to get serious.
Starting August 22, for the first time, the AC 75s with which the America’s Cup will be raced will take to the water in an official confrontation, with the Louis Vuitton Cup starting on August 29 (Find out HERE how to follow it).
Who is the favored challenger to face Team New Zealand in the final?
Is the defender still unbeatable?
Here are our predictions.

Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (ITA)

For Patrizio Bertelli and the Italian team, this is the sixth America’s Cup assault (seven counting the challenge for Bermuda 2017 discontinued) but, 25 years after the first, what Luna Rossa is today? Winning the Louis Vuitton Cup is the minimum goal for a union that has been greatly strengthened in the sailing team (with the entry of Ruggero Tita and Vittorio Bissaro) but is perhaps less stellar in the design team after the exit of Martin Fisher and Mario Caponnetto. The Italian AC 75 was one of the most continuous boats in the preparation phase for the Cup, the one that among the challengers had the least number of technical glitches, a sign of reliability of the craft that is never a given with these boats.
The design approach seems to have been “moderate,” except for the important reduction of the front surface of the hull, which is extremely lean and aerodynamic, Luna Rossa does not have “extreme” elements such as Alinghi’s stern wing or American Magic’s “winged” deck.
The Italian syndicate may have taken a few fewer design risks than other challengers, but it promises to have a versatile and competitive boat from the very first races.
Will it be enough to go all the way?
The feeling is that Luna Rossa can really aspire to the challenger finals; to go further will require having a faster boat than the others.

ALINGHI (SVI)

Ernesto Bertarelli is back in the America’s Cup, having won it in 2003 and successfully defended it in 2007, defeated in 2010, and as was to be expected Alinghi’s challenges are never trivial, all the more so this time ,with the partnership with F1 team Red Bull Racing.
Heading the design team is Marcelino Botin, but a key role in the team is also played by Italian Silvio Arrivabene, co-general manager. Alinghi is outside Luna Rossa, and along with American Magic, one of the teams with the most Italians, including Pietro Sibello as coach.
The boat has perhaps the most extreme and interesting choices of all the challengers, but there was the major drawback of double dismasting.
A structural failure of two masts, which now leaves Alinghi with little room for maneuver, as the Protocol allows for the construction of only two masts and at this point Alinghi will only race with repaired and re-laminated profiles.
The sailing team is all Swiss and revolves around leader and helmsman Arnaud Psarofaghis.
A young crew of sailors making their America’s Cup debut, this may weigh on competitiveness in this edition, but Bertarelli’s sporting plan does not appear to be short-term.
Still, let’s expect a very competitive Alinghi, ready to give us possible surprises along the Louis Vuitton Cup. Team New Zealand (NZL)

leggi anche

Giro d’Italia sailing resumes after a pulse-pounding third stage

The Kiwis have kept as far away from Barcelona as possible at this stage of preparation, and were the last to arrive on the Catalan race course with the new AC 75; in fact, for long weeks very few photos of Team New Zealand in training circulated.
An almost blatant desire to keep the cards hidden. The New Zealanders actually had a long winter session in Spain, but with the old boat.
The new one is an evolution of last Cup’s winning idea, with a team that has changed very little (not least because of the already very young average age), and sees the key men still on the front line: Dan Bernasconi as head of design, Burling and Turke leading the sailing team, with the inclusion of fluoriclasse Nathan Outteridge as second helmsman, plus a block of sailors and designers who have been working together practically since 2017 in Bermuda, when Team New Zealand came up with a completely re-founded team and snatched the Cup away from Oracle, beginning this new winning cycle.. Since 1996 when it comes to the America’s Cup the Kiwis are always among the teams to beat, generations of sailors and designers pass by but their winning philosophy does not change.
It will be very difficult to beat them again this time and win the America’s Cup.

American Magic(USA)

In some ways can be considered as the most dangerous challenger, on paper, for Luna Rossa.
With the entry of Tom Slingsby, the level of the American cockpit has gone way up, and at the same time the design team has been strengthened with the arrival of Mario Caponnetto. The New York Yacht Club’s AC 75 appears to be one of the most advanced from an aerodynamic standpoint, with a winged deck shape that incorporates crew stations, at first glance one of the best solutions among the new generation of AC 75s. In fact, the other challengers still have the crew stations in a more elevated position and less racconrdata with the rest of the hull than the American boat. Already in the last Cup with Patriot the feeling was that the boat’s design was very competitive, before the disastrous capsize that effectively caused its failure.
Imagining them in the Louis Vuitton Cup final, perhaps against Luna Rossa, may not be just a fantasy. The Americans this time seem to have what it takes to try to play it all the way.
The America’s Cup has been missing from the New York club’s trophy case since as far back as 1983, when American hegemony fell in Newport against Australia II. ORIENT EXPRESS (FRA)

In the list of favorites, the transalpines should be placed in last place, if only because they started the campaign last, buying Team New Zealand’s basic boat design to shorten the schedule.
Beware, however, because the sailing team is top-notch, with stars Kevin Peponnet and Quentin Delapierre at the helm, and they have shown with the AC 40s that they know how to be in the fray and be able to place the chop as well. Of course, the America’s Cup will be another game, and there is a question of how far the French will be able to develop the boat design with their own solutions.
They are classic outsiders, potentially dangerous if they arrive at the official races with the boat in place, thanks in part to the fact that the Kiwis’ basic design package will guarantee an interesting boat anyway. France has a long history of challenges in to the Cup, never any however, have they achieved the Pitcher. This does not seem to be the chance to win it either, but the “cousins” should not be underestimated.

Ineos Britannia (UK)

The British are the eternal unfinished business of the America’s Cup.
They have been chasing it forever, but their challenges almost never go all the way to playing it, and not even Sir Ben Ainslie so far has reversed this trend.
The new AC 75 looks like another “peculiar,” seemingly unharmonious boat, but aesthetics in the America’s Cup don’t matter much anymore, and sometimes boats described as “ugly” have proven invincible. Hard to say sa this will be the case for the British, who already appeared limp as a team on the AC 40s, where incredibly they were almost always in the back despite having a stellar sailing team.
There is a Ben Ainslie perhaps absorbed in too many roles at once: team leader, image man, helmsman and technical leader.
Apparently there has also been some internal discontent in this regard, and it is not certain that Big Ben will continue to be a permanent presence on the AC 75 in official regattas.
Ineos is a big unknown: almost unlimited budget, talented sailing team and cutting-edge design team, but also two challenges in a row behind almost totally unsuccessful.
Will this be the time to change course? Mauro Giuffrè

leggi anche

Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix: uphill races for Red Bull Italy Team