The final of the Louis Vuitton Cup remains balanced after a vibrant day of strong winds
BARCELONA, 1 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli continues to demonstrate its strength in the final of the Louis Vuitton Cup and above all, this Tuesday, it put its ability to react and work as a team into play when, after a serious incident in the first race, it broke part of its AC75 and, with 3-4 in favor of INEOS Britannia, carried out an express repair to be able to compete and win the second race, to close the day with 4-4.
Vibrant day full of surprises, both in the wind factor – it blew above the maximum limit of 21 knots – and the waves as well as in the technical and mechanical factor. This 37th America’s Cup depends almost as much, or more, on the machines than on the sailors and this was clear in the first head-to-head of the day.
That first race lasted three and a half minutes, the time that passed until the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli had an incident at more than 40 knots of speed (almost 44), when it lost control of the rudder and sank the bow of the boat, with a such virulence that it broke parts of the AC75.
Among the affected parts, a carbon fiber cover that they were able to ‘fish’ in the waters of Barcelona with the help of the assistance boat and, with crew members and mechanics and technicians on top and in the bowels of the Luna Rossa, in just over half hour they were able to fix the technical problems. As? Well, among other methods, sealing the damage with carbon fiber and insulation, to prevent water from entering the Luna Rossa.
Once the watertightness of the boat was guaranteed and a time trial was carried out, with the clock ticking down to the start of the second regatta underway, the Italian challenger verified that everything was OK and, when the wind allowed it, the green light was given to that race. second regatta, in which Luna Rossa was forced to win so as not to be two points behind INEOS Britannia, which logically took the point from the first regatta.
In an onboard interview, Francesco Bruni, helmsman of Luna Rossa, explained that they had problems with the boat in the first leg, specifically in the starboard foil arm. Bruni added that the bow sinking was caused by the “balance between sails and foils” and not by the rudder.
Luna Rossa recovered and was able to start the second race. In the fight for the pre-start, with the final score 3-4 in favor of Britannia II, the Italians entered the starting box on the port side but, just before the race began, the upper limit was exceeded The 21 knots of wind and the short delay gave Luna Rossa a little more time to inspect the repaired jib carriage.
With the wind just at its limit, the regatta began shortly after. And it did so with surprise, since INEOS Britannia, which also had a lot at stake after the unexpected ‘gift’, went too far towards the limit and was penalized, forced to stay 75 meters behind the Italian union.
A penalty that was holy water for a Luna Rossa team that quickly took absolute control of the race. A long turn to starboard on the margin and to the center of the field made the Italian boat gain more ground, and they covered well at all times, without any more surprises, against an INEOS that was losing meters and seconds.
The Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli sailed at a record speed of 55 knots and did so, despite everything, with extraordinary sailing. Although INEOS passed a buoy with only 7 seconds of disadvantage, it was not in a position to overtake a Luna Rossa that defended itself very well, always under cover and defending the right side of the regatta field, without make mistakes in the last windward gate, to win by 16 seconds and make the score 4-4 in this final of the Louis Vuitton Cup.