Beyond the Cup - All of the news from the thrilling INEOS Team UK victory over Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli to win the Prada Cup Round Robins, with AUT Sailing Professor Mark Orams and Matt Brown. Video / NZ Herald
In their race against Ineos Team UK on Saturday, Luna Rossa made some mistakes that cost them time on the water and, ultimately, the contest.
The result meant the British syndicate progressed straight into the Prada Cup final, while the Italians will meet American Magic in the semifinal this weekend.
Luna Rossa will spend the week ahead honing the performance and doing what they can to find improvements on the water as they enter the first do-or-die stage of their America's Cup campaign.
Speaking to the Herald, helmsman Francesco Bruni said while they hadn't been getting the results, they were more than confident that would change with some tweaks to their performances.
"I think it's just about trying not to do the big mistakes, and sail the boat clean all around the course. If we sail the boat clean, we can easily win races," Bruni said of what his crew need to do better in the week ahead.
Luna Rossa will race against American Magic in the Prada Cup semifinal series. Photo / Brett Phibbs
"Every race we've lost, we were right there, so we know we can do it. It's not like we've been losing races by two or three minutes. We've maybe not been very lucky at times, but luck comes and goes; maybe it will come our way.
"Sometimes you have to make your own luck. We just have to keep chipping away, check what we did wrong on that last race and keep analysing where we can improve."
Bruni said while it was harder to digest the fact they were losing by slim margins, it was definitely more of a positive than a negative for the team to build on this week.
In the best of seven semifinal series, Luna Rossa will meet something of an unknown in American Magic, who have been forced to rebuild their AC75 "Patriot" due to damage it sustained after capsizing in the opening weekend of the Prada Cup – in a race against Luna Rossa.
After the opening weekend, both Luna Rossa and Ineos Team UK commented on how fast the American Magic boat was, however both have made gains since then which were on full display on Sunday as the British syndicate cracked the 50-knot mark while Luna Rossa were often sailing above 45 knots.
Speaking on the match-up against the Americans, Bruni said he expected more close racing, only getting closer as the series progresses.
"I think it will be closer and closer race by race. This is what is happening, you can see it with your eyes; every race is closer," Bruni said.
"It's a great game. We have been sailing well, but we can do a lot better, we know, and we will be very competitive against the Americans."
Prada Cup semifinal series schedule
Friday January 29: Races one and two
Saturday January 30: Races three and four
Sunday January 31: Races five and six (if necessary)
Monday February 1: Race seven (if necessary)
Heading into the Cup racing?
• Give yourself plenty of time and think about catching a ferry, train or bus to watch the Cup.
