America’s Cup: American Magic eliminated as Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli join Ineos Britannia in final

And then there were two.

Either Italy’s Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli or Great Britain’s Ineos Britannia will challenge Team New Zealand for the America’s Cup next month, with the two the last standing challengers after the semifinals of the Louis Vuitton Cup.

Luna Rossa secured their spot alongside the British in the best-of-13 final series this morning, beating American Magic in the first of two possible races of the day to secure a 5-3 series win.

“I’m super happy, almost more than when we won the Prada Cup in Auckland,” Luna Rossa port helmsman Francesco Bruni said.

“It’s been a fantastic journey, these super semifinals, and we are ready for more fight. We had some pressure, for sure, and it was great to reply strong to that pressure.”

It was a race that answered some questions hovering over the Italians. The Cup challenger from the 36th America’s Cup in Auckland made a strong start to the semifinals in Barcelona to go up 4-0 over American Magic. While those first four races were well contested, Luna Rossa showed they were able to find ways to win.

But the Americans fought back to bring the tie to 4-3, the last of those races being won as Luna Rossa suffered structural damage when their traveller broke and they could not continue.

After a big 24 hours from the shore team, their AC75 was back on the water and showed no signs of lingering issues from the damage.

“The last 24 hours have been the toughest for the shore team, but we have a super strong team. They deserve this win.

“We all deserve this win. It was not an easy night in the shed and psychologically it was very hard for the whole team so we’re very proud.”

Both teams got off to strong starts in a day of light, but consistent, breeze, and it was clear Luna Rossa favoured the shoreside of the course as they tacked off that way almost immediately. That side of the course has been the more reliable for wind.

After some exciting match racing toward the first gate, Luna Rossa held a slim lead which they extended through an impressive downwind leg.

American Magic answered with a strong upwind on leg three to trim about 200m off the lead, but the real turning point came on the second downwind leg where a slight touchdown saw the Americans lose some pace and allow Luna Rossa to push further forward.

The Italians sailed as perfect a race as they would have hoped for, ultimately claiming a comfortable win.

Ineos Britannia confirmed their place in the final the day before, beating Swiss crew Alinghi Red Bull Racing 5-2 in their semifinal.

It will be a repeat of the Challenger Series final from Auckland in 2021 – then called the Prada Cup – in which Luna Rossa beat their British counterparts 7-1.

The Louis Vuitton Cup final is scheduled to get under way at midnight on Friday, September 27 (NZ time), giving the teams a week to find more pace in their boats.

Results

Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (Italy) beat American Magic (United States) by 1m 01s to win their semifinal series 5-3 and eliminate the Americans from the regatta.

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.