Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Defeats American Magic To Race in America’s Cup Challenger Final

The clock struck midnight for American Magic as Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli bounced back from a catastrophic mechanical failure to eliminate the New York Yacht Club, without missing a beat. On a day where fickle, light winds were predicted, the Italians took charge from the get-go, even with a great start by American Magic co-helmsman Tom Slingsby. Luna Rossa was clearly the faster boat, and after the rounding at the second bottom gate, were never really threatened as they stretched out a lead to finish 61 seconds ahead of Patriot 2.0.

Italy showed no ill effects from the mainsheet traveler, which was ripped apart the day before with a loud crack — a veritable explosion that was seemingly heard around the world. Overnight, the Italian shore team burned the midnight oil repairing a damaged track system that had given way and gifted the American team a race win to close to 4-3 in this first-to-five series. The Italian shore team heroes were described as looking like “zombies” this morning, but their efforts were thoroughly rewarded with the semi-final series win. Luna Rossa will now face INEOS Britannia for the Challenger Final in a best-of-13 race series, or the first team to seven points, for the second consecutive time. The two teams faced off in Auckland in 2021, with the British coming in on a wave of momentum, only to be easily dispatched by the Italians 7-1.

Last time it was for the Prada Cup; this time the Louis Vuitton Cup makes a return after a seven-year absence. The winner will face off against a well-rested Emirates Team New Zealand, who represent the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron as the Defender/Trustee.

American Magic were valiant in their efforts, bouncing back from a 4-0 deficit to take three straight races and put the Italians on their back feet, be it briefly. Tom Slingsby, and backup co-helmsman Lucas Calabrese, subbing for the injured Paul Goodison, sailed relatively mistake-free in a hard-fought series in which every race was decided by razor-thin margins.

Under leaden skies and flat-water conditions, the race began with NYYC American Magic’s Patriot 2.0 entering the start box on time from the left, crossing ahead of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli. After a drag race to the right boundary, both boats turned back to the line, engaging in a tactical battle for position. The Americans crossed first, forcing the Italians to tack away, but Luna Rossa regained momentum with a surge to leeward as American Magic tacked away.

At the first windward gate, Luna Rossa led by 20 seconds, but Patriot closed the gap to just eight seconds after a well-timed wind shift. Despite mounting pressure, a brief touchdown downwind allowed Luna Rossa to extend their lead to 21 seconds at the second leeward gate. In the final leg, no opportunities to recover materialized, and Luna Rossa crossed the finish 61 seconds ahead, ending American Magic’s semi-final campaign.

Luna Rossa co-helmsman Francesco Bruni admitted to some nerves about the boat the previous night. “It’s been a fantastic journey, these sem-ifinals, and we are ready for more fights. We had some pressure for sure, and it was great to reply strong to that pressure.

“I wasn’t sure that the boat was going to be back in one piece. But at the same time, I have full trust in them, so making too many questions was wrong. So I went to bed not super-happy with the day.”

“We got to 4-0 up, and they’re a champion team, and they showed a huge amount of fight to really push us the whole way,” co-helmsman Jimmy Spithill added.

President of Sailing Operations for American Magic Terry Hutchinson reflected on the team’s performance after the race, expressing both pride and disappointment.“We were always one of those teams that was going to get better with more and more racing,”

“We faced some setbacks, like Goody going down, but I’m so hugely impressed with Lucas and how well he stepped into it. I’m also so proud of our team for how everybody evolved. It was so cool just to watch Tommy and Lucas’s relationship evolve in a very short period of time to a point where they were going toe-to-toe with the past winners of the Prada Cup and the last challenger in the America’s Cup.

“We were there, knocking on the door, basically every single race,” Hutchinson said. “The disappointment is that you can see all the promise and where we were heading.”

“It’s really hard. This is one of the worst feelings you’ll ever feel in sport, especially when you’re part of such a larger team, to get close and fall short,” said Slingsby. “As much as I’m sort of stewing a few of my bad decisions in that race, we’ve got to hold our heads high from where we were a week or two ago, to the team we are now.”

“Our designers built us a fast boat, and then I guess the sailors, hats off, our cyclists are absolute weapons, and it’s been a privilege to sail with them,” concluded Slingsby.