On a day headlined by delays due to high winds and damage to Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli’s mainsail, the Italians split the day’s two races with Ineos Britanna, heading back to base with the first-to-seven series tied at 2-2.
A day after light winds saw the race time out before the British could get to the finish line to close out a win, they were handed their second win of the series for simply making it on to the course this morning.
Racing was delayed by the wind being above the 21-knot limit initially, but when it was cleared to start, Luna Rossa were unable to compete in the first contest after sustaining damage to their mainsail.
The Italians couldn’t get a replacement sail hoisted in time, and they were disqualified immediately for having non-sailing crew aboard their AC75 at the time of entry to the starting box.
They bounced back in the day’s second race – after another lengthy delay as the wind crept back above the limit – to win by just four seconds.
“It means a lot,” Luna Rossa port helmsman Francesco Bruni said of winning the second race.
“It was not an easy moment for the team, but we have seen this team facing bad moments and regrouping and coming back stronger than before, so I’m super proud of the whole team.”
When sailing did get under way again after the wind delays, Luna Rossa went on the offensive.
Top-end conditions saw the teams compete in a tense match race in the fourth contest of the series. Photo / Ricardo Pinto, America's Cup
Giving Ineos Britannia a bit of a scare in the starting box with some aggressive decision-making, Luna Rossa got the better of the start, though it was close off the line.
Both boats were pushing hard and the British hit the protest button several times through the first half of the race as they believed they might have been impeded on manoeuvres in the starting box and on the course.
Their protests were swiftly knocked back by the race umpires, in what was a tense match race through the halfway mark.
Luna Rossa maintained the lead, fending off a couple of charges from the British before being able to build a bit more of a lead when Ineos Britannia went wide when rounding the mark to begin leg five of the eight-leg race.
The British fought back to close the gap on the penultimate leg, and were back within 100m on the final leg, but Luna Rossa were able to close out the win to level the scores again.
“It was a tough one. We thought we had those guys locked up and they threw a crash gybe in, but the umpires saw it differently, that’s just the way it goes sometimes,” Ineos Britannia starboard helmsman Sir Ben Ainslie said of the start.
“Other than that, it was a great race, a couple of other really close moments and it didn’t quite go our way. Tough race for the guys, we pushed all the way and credit to Luna Rossa for getting across the line in front.”
Results
Ineos Britannia beat Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli by disqualification.
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli beat Ineos Britannia by 4s.
