Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli remains undefeated after the opening Round Robin
A very important milestone has just been reached at the Louis Vuitton Cup. With the conclusion of today’s races, all the challengers for the America’s Cup have now competed against each other at least once.
Four days of intense racing have allowed us to evaluate the performance of all the teams, while also awarding crucial points for determining the semifinal participants. The four teams with the highest points will face off in a knockout format. I
n the match that ended just this afternoon, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, still undefeated, leads the standings with a one-point advantage over its closest rival: Ineos Britannia.
Alinghi Red Bull Racing‘s performance was disappointing again today, struggling to reach the performance level of the other teams. Along with the French team, Orient Express Racing Team, they are part of the group of boats that still need to close a noticeable performance gap.
Between Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, NYYC American Magic, and Ineos Britannia, the margin is really tight and, in my opinion, primarily based on the polar curves of the individual boats, meaning their ability to express VMG (Velocity Made Good) depending on wind strength.
Another entirely personal impression is that Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli might be capable of even better performances than what we’ve seen so far. On several occasions, it seemed as if they were nailing the perfect trim, and we witnessed accelerations or angles well above the norm. Is Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli “pacing” itself? It’s hard to be certain, but that’s my impression, though I am clearly biased.
Of course, we are dealing with AC75s—sailboats weighing 6.5 tons and just under 22 meters long—that lift off the water on foils, eliminating water drag, and reach speeds close to 4 to 5 times the wind speed! In such a scenario, it’s easy to understand how small variations can lead to significant, or even enormous, differences in absolute speed and, of course, in VMG as well.
In today’s race, with just over 8 knots of true wind, Luna Rossa managed to fly over the water at more than 35 knots, and when Aeolus gifted us with 12 knots of wind for brief moments, it exceeded 45 knots on more than one occasion!
Now we just have to wait until next Tuesday to once again admire these magnificent boats flying over the water and battling it out in fiercely contested races, which will, by the end of the week—specifically next Sunday—result in the elimination of one of the teams.
