America’s Cup: Team NZ meet Luna Rossa first as match-ups for Barcelona regatta confirmed

Team New Zealand sail their AC75 Taihoro in Barcelona. Photo / Job Vermeulen, America's Cup

Team New Zealand’s first proper race in their new AC75 will bring with it a tinge of nostalgia.

The America’s Cup defender will meet their challenger in the last Cup Match, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, when racing gets under way in the final preliminary regatta in Barcelona next month.

The regatta unofficially signals the beginning of the 37th America’s Cup, with the six competing syndicates finally getting to see how their new race boats stack up against one another.

While there have been two preliminary regattas already this campaign, this will be the first time the teams have raced on AC75s and the first time they will be racing at the Cup venue.

Unlike the previous two preliminary regattas, which were comprised primarily of fleet races on the smaller AC40 foiling monohulls, the Barcelona prelude will see match racing return to prominence on the America’s Cup stage.

Racing will start on August 23, with newcomers Alinghi Red Bull Racing (Switzerland) and Orient Express Racing Team (France) going head-to-head in the first race of the event.

That will be followed by the match between Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa (Italy), before Challenger of Record Ineos Britannia (UK) and American Magic (USA) square off.

Four races are scheduled to be completed on each of the four days, with two teams sailing twice on one day. Day one sees Luna Rossa and Orient Express race twice. Team New Zealand will race twice on day three. The opening day match-ups are the same as fans will see on the first day of the Louis Vuitton Cup Challenger Series round robins.

While it is a preliminary regatta, the four-day event offers an important opportunity for the teams to learn about themselves and their opponents.

There are only four days between the end of the final preliminary event and the start of the Louis Vuitton Cup, with the preliminary regatta lighting the fuse for a two-month celebration of sailing that will complete another chapter in the history of the world’s oldest sporting event.

With three years of work in planning, design and execution to come up with the best package, the preliminary regatta could indicate who the most competitive teams will be when things begin on August 29.

Unlike the 36th America’s Cup in Auckland, Team New Zealand will compete in the Louis Vuitton Cup round robin stages, getting some valuable competition under their belts before taking a step back when the knockout stages begin.

They will then return to action in early October against the last team standing, with the Auld Mug on the line.

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