ROAD TO AUCKLAND
THE JOURNEY TO AUCKLAND
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli’s journey to the 36^ America’s Cup is neither the shortest nor the easiest. It is so much more than the 10,800 miles of sea (20,000 km) that separate Cagliari from Auckland and the days left until the start of the event. The route chosen to take the team to the 36^ America’s Cup presented by PRADA is that of a group of people on a mission.
All this would not be possible if it weren’t for the energy of two of Italy’s finest Industrial giants: Prada Group and Pirelli Group. All this would not be possible if it weren’t for the determination of Patrizio Bertelli, President of Luna Rossa Challenge, who has dreamt of winning the America’s Cup since 1997.
America's Cup World Series
17-19 December 2020, Auckland, New Zealand
After 3 days of fierce battles between the teams, the PRADA America's Cup world Series has come to an end.
In the last day, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team raced in two regattas, one against the Ineos UK, winning with a lead of two laps, the other against Emirates Team New Zealand where, after a sequence of exciting turns and twists, Team New Zealand won with the closest racing ever seen within this series.
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team closes this first event gaining the 3rd place in the overall ranking.
Christmas Cup
20 December 2020, Auckland, New Zealand
On this last day of 2020 regattas, due to unfavorable wind conditions, all attempts to race came to failure.
After starting the first regatta between Ineos Team UK and Emirates team New Zealand the race was cancelled since none of the 2 teams were able to reach the finish line before the time limit.
This long weekend though, despite last day's drawbacks, closes positively for Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli and gave the opportunity to all teams to finally meet together on water.
Prada Cup Challenger’s Selection Series
17 JANUARY 2021, AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
From the first race cancelled for sudden wind shifts to the major accident involving American Magic, the first weekend of the Prada Cup closes with a day filled with unexpected events. The first races weekend comes to an end with both robins round robins completed on schedule. INEOS Team UK is undefeated and lies at the top of the ranking, followed by Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli with two wins and two losses and NYCC American Magic with no wins. The qualifying races continue next week with the final two round robins. At the end of these, the best in the standings will move directly to the PRADA Cup final, while the two other teams will compete in the semi-final.
23 JANUARY 2021, AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
Only two races to be held during the weekend, given American Magic stayed on shore, following which the schedule was revised: Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli and INEOS Team UK on Saturday and Sunday. The racecourse chosen for today’s racing was course C, with an average of 17 knots from south-west and significant shifts both in direction and intensity. It was a balanced regatta, where both boats alternately took the lead throughout the first 3 legs. When reaching the final downwind the British team stretched forward and crossed the finish line 33 seconds in front of Luna Rossa. With this victory, INEOS advances directly to the PRADA Cup Finals and wins the PRADA Christmas Cup trophy that had not been awarded at Christmas.
31 JANUARY 2021, AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
With the start of the PRADA Cup semifinals in Auckland, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli races against NYYC American Magic in order to gain access to the Finals against the British INEOS Team UK.
Both first two races were held on Course C in gusty south-westerly winds ranging from 17 to 20 knots.
Luna Rossa wins both races with a comfortable lead, optimizing on the pre-start phases that were further consolidated throughout the 8-leg trial, accumulating steady gains at each gate
After four wins in a row, Luna Rossa leap to the final stage of the PRADA Cup.
The day after, with two more solid wins against NYYC American Magic, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli gains access to the final of the PRADA Cup in which the Italian team will face team INEOS UK, currently undefeated winners in the round robins.
14 FEBRUARY 2021, AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
The first day of racing in the Prada Cup final between Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli and INEOS Team UK starts with two solid wins. The light wind conditions during the first part of the day led the race committee to choose field A for the races of the day. Second day of racing in the final phase of the PRADA Cup. The scenario of today's two races is Course E, positioned between the islands of Waiheke and Rangitoto, where the wind conditions are notoriously shifty due to the height of the surrounding island. Luna Rossa, with two spectacular regattas of pure match racing, wins two more points and consolidates its lead on 4-0 against the British team.
