Prada Cup: GBR thrives, USA crashes

Auckland, New Zealand (January 17, 2021) – The third and final day of the opening set for the Prada Cup Challenger Selection Series would complete the first half of the robin round stage and provide another shocker for the three teams vying to face the America’s Cup defender.

INEOS Team UK (GBR) would again outperform the prognosticators, Luna Rossa (ITA) would retain their position in the pecking order, and American Magic (USA) would tragically continue their downward spiral.

RR2, Race 2 – ITA vs GBR
The first race of the day was abandoned following a big wind shift, the result of a large rain squall sweeping across the course just as the two boats were completing the second lap.

The re-set course was orientated more towards the west. The shift in the breeze, now 14-16 knots from 320°, was just as the forecast had suggested but it meant that the course would be more affected by the land with more potential for shifty conditions.

In the match pre-start, with around a minute to go, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli took an opportunity to force INEOS TEAM UK to avoid them in the hope that they could make the British team late for the start. And while the maneuver might not have delivered exactly that, it did allow them to take the upper hand at the start and squeeze INEOS TEAM UK to the point that they were forced to tack off onto port.

From that point both boats headed for opposite extremes of the 3-lap course, tacking at the boundaries. When they came back together the Italians were clearly ahead having benefited from a good shift on the right hand side of the course.

At gate 1, British skipper Ben Ainslie approached on starboard, but Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli was ahead by 10 seconds. The downwind leg played out much the first leg with each team taking the game out to opposite boundaries. By gate 2 the margin had closed to just 7 seconds.

Another closely fought windward leg followed. This time at the top of the course both boats went through gate 3 at exactly the same time. Then came the lead change on leg 4.

On the downwind leg, INEOS TEAM UK had taken the right hand side of the course, the Italians the left. The right hand side had paid and the British were now in the lead. By the bottom gate 4, INEOS TEAM UK lead was 26 seconds.

But Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli was not giving up. At the top they had closed the gap down to just 12 seconds, but despite working every shift hard they could not find the shift or the extra pace required to take their lead back. INEOS TEAM UK crossed the finish 18 seconds ahead to take their fourth win from four starts.

RR2, Race 3 – USA vs ITA
As the clock counted down, both teams were out of position and late for the pre-start entry. But when they did make it into the pre-start zone they were neck and neck. Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli was on starboard and forced American Magic to take avoiding action, a dial down. This should have allowed the Italians to gain the upper hand, but they couldn’t stay on their foils and lost the opportunity to take control of the Americans.

From there, the pre-start preamble was a little loose as both teams tried to recompose themselves. As the start approached Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli had managed to recover to get to the line on time at speed, while American Magic were a shade late in winds of 16-20 knots at 270° for the 3-lap course.

Both boats crossed the line on starboard at speed, but in an unusual move the Italians chose to make a big call to tack onto port and cross American Magic before they had made it to the boundary. They managed to cross but only just. In doing so the Italians had given up the left hand side of the course which on the face of it looked to be the favored side.

American Magic pressed on to the left, got to the boundary and tacked, squeezing everything they could out of the potential advantage. When they came back together, the Americans had indeed managed to muscle ahead. At gate 1 American Magic led by just 6 seconds. By the bottom of leg 2, the USA lead had grown to 13 seconds.

On the upwind leg there was little engagement as American Magic took the left hand side of the race course, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli took the right. By the top at gate 3 it was clear that the left-hand side had paid. American Magic were now 27 seconds ahead.

The second downwind leg saw American Magic choosing the better side of the downwind leg, managing to keep their gybes down to just one, a result of the breeze shifting to the left. For Luna Rossa it was three gybes to gate 4 drawing out the distance between the pair to 42 seconds. But drama was to come.

At the top gate for the last time the breeze had gone so far left that the left hand mark was the only choice. But it meant a very difficult maneuver, especially as a squall was sweeping across the course.

USA made it through the tack, but as they came out the leeward running backstay was not released, preventing the mainsail from being eased. With sail pinned in and the gust now on them, American Magic’s bow reared up – a capsize was inevitable.

Luna Rossa passed through the gate cleanly and took the lead, proceeding down the final leg for the victory while American Magic scored their second DNF.

This race completes the second round of the opening stage which includes four round robins, with the final two rounds scheduled for January 22-24.

Problems for American Magic:
While all previous capsizes – two by Emirates Team New Zealand and one by American Magic – were quickly resolved, with boats righted promptly, the American team suffered what is believed to be significant damage while rounding the mark just before 18:00 NZT.

With the hull taking on water, the call was issued for support, and American Magic received rapid assistance from the three other America’s Cup teams, along with America’s Cup Event Ltd, the race management team, the Coast Guard New Zealand, the Auckland Harbormaster, and local fire and police personnel.

By 22:00 NZT, their boat PATRIOT was stabilized and in the process of being towed back to shore, safely back to their base an hour later. No report yet on the extent of the damage or their ability to continue the competition. The next scheduled racing is on January 22.

Prada Cup Scoreboard (wins-losses)
American Magic (USA): 0-4
INEOS Team UK (GBR): 4-0
Luna Rossa (ITA): 2-2

The PRADA Cup is a series of four round robins (Jan. 15-17 and Jan. 22-24), with the winner of the series qualifying for the PRADA Cup Final and the remaining two Challengers going into a Semi-Final Series (Jan. 29-Feb. 2) for the right to join the Round Robin winner in the Final (Feb. 13–22). The winner of the PRADA Cup will then face the Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand, in the America’s Cup Match beginning March 6.

More information:
• Prada Cup format, standings, and how to watch online: click here.
• Complete America’s Cup coverage: click here
• Additional America’s Cup information: click here

Source: Prada Cup