It was a bittersweet debut for Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli on this first day of the Preliminary Regatta Barcelona, as the team was forced to withdraw in the first match against Emirates Team New Zealand due to a technical issue.  In the second race of the day Luna Rossa went on to win against the French Orient Express Racing Team.

«We had a problem with the electrical systems» explained helmsman Francesco ‘Checco’ Bruni directly from the racecourse after the issue during the race with the NZL boat. «All of a sudden we lost all the functions of the AC75 for a full 20 seconds. Luckily we were sailing upwind and managed to regain control of the boat. This is clearly not a good debut, but one of the points of preliminary races is also to test the boat to its limits and pinpoint possible problems and fix them before the start of the Louis Vuitton Cup.»

The racecourse, positioned in front of Barceloneta, allowed the numerous spectators crowding the waterfront -many of whom Italians - to follow the races from the beach. Many tourists, in fact, have chosen the start of the competitions to reach the Catalan capital to watch the event and support Luna Rossa in its challenge for the America's Cup.

RACE #2: NZL vs. ITA
Starting central and powerful on the line, Luna Rossa initiates with a series of tacks to separate herself from Emirates Team New Zealand, who responds to each maneuver by staying in cover. Coming out of the fourth tack, however, an electric system failure robs the team of any control on the AC75 and puts an end to all hopes for this regatta as it is forced to withdraw.
Winner: NZL (+ 1 pt)

RACE #4: ITA vs. FRA
Having solved the technical problems on board, Luna Rossa starts the race well ahead of the French, who are forced to a delay after a fall from their foils. From that moment on the Italian boat will lead the race in front, keeping to the right of the course which was considered the favoured in today's SSW wind and wave. With the problems of the previous match now resolved, the boat sails and maneuvers without any difficulty. After rounding the first gate in the lead the gap in favour of the Italian boat steadily increases until the finish line, where Luna Rossa closes the race with a lead of over one minute and a half.
Winner: ITA (+ 1 pt)

Luna Rossa's crew today featured Jimmy Spithill and Francesco Bruni at the helm, with Umberto Molineris and Andrea Tesei as trimmers. As for the cyclors, Enrico Voltolini and Emanuele Liuzzi sailed in both races, while Paolo Simion and Cesare Gabbia alternated with Luca Kirwan and Mattia Camboni.

Tomorrow, August 23, Luna Rossa will race Match #7 against NYYC American Magic, starting at 1:20 pm.