KEY POINTS:
Luna Rossa skipper Francesco de Angelis will go into the challenger series final in Valencia having learned from his previous two campaigns.
De Angelis and Prada are now in their third campaign. They made their impressive debut in 2000, beating America One in an epic battle to advance to the America's Cup match.
"The first one taught us about enthusiasm and how you approach it for the first time, not knowing much but just having a lot of drive and focus and how that can lead to success," he said.
The Italian syndicate returned in 2003, only to be eliminated in the semifinals. The campaign was marred by dissatisfaction with their boat speed.
"The second one we learned you can sometimes make things complicated by yourself.
"This time I was thinking about that and I tried to make it as simple as I could. Just to have simpler and more clear goals, enjoy the game, keep up your schedule and surround yourself with good people."
The Luna Rossa team looked sound and strong in their semifinal drubbing of Chris Dickson's BMW Oracle Racing. While their performance in the round-robin was okay, the Italians found another gear against Oracle.
Chris Dickson said of them: "Luna Rossa have improved their upwind sails significantly, they improved their downwind sails, they have improved their starting, their crew work, their windshift calls on many, many levels."
When asked about their huge improvement in performance, de Angelis said it was much harder than the score reflected.
"We have been taking it step by step, working on improving the boat and ourselves. The game itself is complicated and each team follows its own path and is full of smart, talented people. You have to be clear what steps to take at your own speed."
There is also the "Schnackenberg" factor. One must not forget that Luna Rossa have in their artillery Tom Schnackenberg, the man Denis Conner once described as having the best brain in yachting.
When asked who he'd like to have as an opponent in the final, which starts on June 1, de Angelis tactfully answered: "That is a problem those two guys have to sort out for themselves."
* Team Origin, Britain's bid to enter the 33rd America's Cup, have announced their intention to buy their first Cup Class training boat, SUI75 - the training and testing boat used by Alinghi. Team Origin plans to re-brand it GBR75. It will be reassembled and commissioned in Valencia and undergo a short test sail shortly after this America's Cup.
* Team New Zealand's semifinal against Desafio Espanol was postponed last night (NZT) due to strong winds. With the Kiwis leading 4-2 in the best-of-nine series, the teams will try again overnight tonight.
