From Barcelona, NZ Herald sports reporter Michael Burgess backgrounds the Luna Rossa challenge in the 37th America’s’ Cup.
Video / NZ Herald
It hasn’t taken long for the America’s Cup to get intriguing.
The opening day of the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger series in Barcelona served up plenty of surprises, with Team New Zealand, French syndicate Orient Express Racing Team and American Magic offering the biggest talking points of the day.
In tricky conditions, Team NZ’s decision to compete in the round-robin phase of the challenger series was almost immediately justified as they got a taste of how quickly things can change in their win over Italians Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli.
The day’s racing was delayed by half an hour as the wind hovered just below the 6.5-knot wind limit. The teams were set up for light-wind racing, but by the time Team NZ and Luna Rossa took to the course for the second race of the day, things had changed; both teams noted they were set up for lighter conditions than those they competed in.
That didn’t stop them from playing out a thrilling opening race; Luna Rossa edging out the Kiwis early and securing the favoured lefthand side of the course.
But with the breeze picking up from earlier in the day, both sides of the course had breeze on offer and by the third leg, the Italians were working to protect that side of the course instead. It was doing so that ultimately cost them the race as Team NZ were able to pull off an impressive pass just before the third gate after Luna Rossa had tacked to keep their advantage.
Rather than tacking away to get into clean air, Team NZ stayed on the hip of Luna Rossa and in a matter of seconds they had taken the lead; the only lead change across the day’s four races.
“Honestly, I realised late that they didn’t tack there, so that’s my bad for this,” Luna Rossa port helmsman Francesco Bruni said on the broadcast after the race.
“There was a little mistake in communication there, but overall we must be pretty happy with how we sailed that race.”
Team New Zealand beat Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli on the opening day of the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger series. Photo / Ian Roman, America's Cup
Once they took the lead, Team NZ kicked on; reading the breeze well, keeping the Italians at bay and closing out a beautifully managed race.
“It was an awesome race. We wanted the left and were quite happy with the way we held them out there and then they got a bit more of an advantage than we thought and crossed us quite comfortably,” Team NZ starboard helmsman Peter Burling said on the broadcast after the race.
“But the way we just held in there instead of doing what we did against American Magic in the prelims was really pleasing for the group and we took that opportunity when it arose.”
While the defender does not accrue points during the round-robin phase, Burling said their opening tilt against Luna Rossa proved why it would be beneficial for both defender and challengers for them to be on the water for this part of the competition.
“With every race we do we get better. It’s obviously nice to have an opponent to duke it out with and I’m sure they’ll get stronger from that as well and it won’t make life so easy next time.”
Orient Express turned plenty of heads in the first race of the series, with an impressive win over Switzerland’s Alinghi Red Bull Racing.
The last challenger to enter was the first to put a point on the board in the series, executing their start perfectly to secure the left and get the better of the breeze. That set them up for a strong race, showing their speed and sailing the boat well.
The French came into the regatta as the rank outsider, but it is hard to know exactly where they stand after day one as they were beaten comfortably by Luna Rossa in the last race of the day.
In the day’s third race, American Magic got stung by the light conditions in the starting box, coming off their foils and giving up a big lead to Ineos Britannia. The race was over before it began, but the Americans made up plenty of ground down the back end of the race to finish a respectable 14 seconds back.
