ABOUT LUNA ROSSA

Luna Rossa won the Louis Vuitton Cup in Auckland, giving it the

right to dispute the final race against Black Magic. It was the first time

an Italian skipper, Francesco de Angelis, had participated in the final

stages of the America’s Cup, and it was also the first time without

an American boat competing. The cup was claimed by the New

Zealanders, but Luna Rossa took home a record: 38 victories out of

the 49 preliminary races disputed.

After an absence of more than a century, the Cup once again

returned to Europe. Luna Rossa defeated the American Oracle

team in the semi-finals 5 to 1, also thanks to the exploits of a

very young James Spithill. Luna Rossa reached the final of the

Louis Vuitton Cup, five hard-fought races in which Emirates

Team New Zealand came out victorious.

In April 2015, after launching its fifth challenge for the America’s

Cup, the Luna Rossa team decided to withdraw from the challenge

following changes in the Class Rule that had already been approved

by all participants of the 35^ America’s Cup, imposed unilaterally

by the Defender, through an unprecedented procedure.

This 37-member unit is by far the largest team and is divided into 5 units: naval architecture, structural engineering, mechanical engineering, computer engineering, aero- and hydrodynamic engineering. In addition to dedicating themselves to the design of the hulls, sails and all the custom design components, the team analyzes the data from the simulator and from the computers connected to the hull during training at sea. Thanks to the synchronized activity with the Sailing team and the Shore team, every day they study and design solutions that increase boat’s performance.

The New Generation Project stems from the desire to reinforce what has become a constant for Luna Rossa over the years: ensuring continuity for the challenge by initiating several generations of sailors.

Within the project, the most experienced sailors are joined by new recruits, who are a stimulus to the entire team: veterans with different editions of America’s Cup under their belts work alongside the young talents who have a more natural relationship with advanced technologies.

Tight training sessions at sea and on land cover tactics and strategy, adjustments and manoeuvres, development of sensitivity and intuition, but it doesn’t end there; careful character evaluation and propensity to teamwork and stress management. These are the closely monitored observation and selection criteria of the New Generation Project to bring talented young Italian sailors onto the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team. The team invests in generational change while maintaining the pursuit of sporting excellence that has always characterized the crews of Luna Rossa.