BARCELONA, 26 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The young Italian sailors of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli were crowned champions of the Unicredit Youth America’s Cup in Barcelona on Thursday, winning the final with a clear victory over the NYYC American Magic of the United States, in a six-leg race with winds of up to 18 knots and large waves on the Barcelona regatta course.
Led by helmsman Marco Gradoni and his co-helmsman Gianluigi ‘Gigi’ Ugolini, and their trimmers Rocco Falcone and Federico Colaninno, the Italian Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli produced an exceptional final and gave no chance to the American boat, which was always behind.
With steady sailing and taking advantage of the NYYC American Magic pre-start box entry penalty, Luna Rossa had an easy time dominating and, with faultless sailing and flying over a sea of waves of more than 1 metre, took the win comfortably, with the Americans paying dearly for the initial 75 metre penalty for arriving early at the port end of the start line.
Luna Rossa made no mistake and even cleared the leeward gates on the two foils in 18 knots of wind, and held firm on the upwind gates at speeds in excess of 46 knots.
For the NYYC America’s Cup Junior Team led by Harry Melges, co-helmsman Kyle Navin, and trimmers Severin Gramm and Finn Rowe, the dream was over in a head-to-head match race after doing well in the previous rounds of fleet racing –all against all-. The Americans found themselves 36 seconds behind the Italian crew after that starting penalty and were unable to recover.
By winning the UniCredit Youth America’s Cup, after surviving a minor scare in the final gybe on the last leg towards the finish line, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli’s youth project has “made its mark”, according to the race’s organisers, and marks a milestone for the future of Italy’s participation in elite sailing.
After the race, Luna Rossa celebrated the Youth America’s Cup victory in style. Marco Gradoni, the figure not only of the youth team but of Italian youth sailing, said that it was an important moment. “We have worked hard to achieve this and now we have achieved our goal. I want to thank everyone, the coach, the shore team, the technical team, everyone, because it was very difficult to reach this level. But we have achieved it and it is an incredible feeling,” celebrated the Italian.