Luna Rossa names Naples sailing team and moves to Nisida

Luna Rossa has announced the sailors called up for the Preliminary Regatta Naples, which starts on 24 September. Final line-ups will be decided on a daily basis. The team has rotated its athletes so that everyone can take part in the competition on board the AC40s, giving young sailors the chance to sail and settle in with the rest of the crew.

Luna Rossa 1 – Senior Team has Peter Burling, Marco Gradoni and Ruggero Tita as helmsmen, with Maria Giubilei, Gianluigi Ugolini and Umberto Molineris as trimmers. Luna Rossa 2 – Y&W Team lines up Margherita Porro, Massimiliano Antoniazzi and Lorenzo Sirena on the helm, Maria Vittoria Marchesini as helmswoman/trimmer, and Giovanni Santi and Alice Linussi as trimmers.

At the end of today the team leaves the Palumbo Superyachts Refit yard, which has hosted its temporary base in Naples since 3 July, and moves to Nisida, where it will keep training until the regatta begins.

Over the summer Luna Rossa ran two programmes in parallel: the AC40s in Naples with the Y&W team, joined at times by the Senior team, and the AC75 in Cagliari. Sailing on the racecourse of the 38th America's Cup at the same time of year as the 2027 competition will be held served to gather information and train the crew, while bringing on new sailors.

"I am very pleased with the work done this summer," said Max Sirena, Chief Executive Officer of Luna Rossa. "In Naples and in Cagliari alike, the team gave everything to run two programmes that are demanding both in sporting and logistical terms. We are now in the final stage of our preparation for the preliminary regattas starting on the 24th. We still have training days ahead of us and we will make the most of them, but these months of sailing in Naples have certainly been very useful. Now it is a matter of turning the work we have done and the information we have gathered into results. I want to thank the Palumbo Superyachts yard, which hosted our temporary base and allowed us to operate efficiently and in complete safety. Particular thanks also go to Sport & Salute, which has worked without a break to set up the facilities that will host us in Nisida during the event and to make our move easier. On the sporting side, I am happy with our line-ups: we have outstanding, highly experienced sailors alongside young athletes – women and boys – with huge potential and significant results already behind them. This mix of skills and different approaches is an added value for us. Now we are focusing on the regattas about to start, committed to giving our best and reaching the goals we have set ourselves."

Boat 1 – Senior

Peter Burling is an Olympic gold and silver medallist, a multiple world champion and a two-time World Sailor of the Year. As helmsman of Emirates Team New Zealand he won three consecutive America's Cups in 2017, 2021 and 2024. He joined Luna Rossa in 2025 and, as skipper and co-helmsman, won the Preliminary Regatta Sardinia 2026 with the Senior Team.

Ruggero Tita is a two-time Olympic champion, with back-to-back gold medals in the Nacra 17 at Tokyo 2021 and Paris 2024, and was named Rolex World Sailor of the Year in 2022. After working with Luna Rossa in the two previous America's Cup campaigns, he joined the Sailing Team for the 2027 campaign. In 2026, as AC40 co-helmsman, he won the Preliminary Regatta Sardinia with the Senior Team.

Marco Gradoni is the only sailor to have won three consecutive Optimist World Championships (2017-2019) and became, at 15, the youngest Rolex World Sailor of the Year ever. He then won the Junior World and European titles in the 470 Mixed. As Luna Rossa co-helmsman he took the UniCredit Youth America's Cup 2024 and the Youth & Women title at the Preliminary Regatta Sardinia 2026.

Maria Giubilei is Nacra 17 World Champion (2026), a three-time world runner-up and a three-time U24 World Champion. She joined Luna Rossa in 2024 and, as AC40 trimmer, won the Puig Women's America's Cup in 2024 and the Youth & Women title at the Preliminary Regatta Sardinia in 2026.

Gianluigi "Gigi" Ugolini is Nacra 17 World Champion (2026), a three-time world runner-up and a three-time U24 World Champion. With Luna Rossa he won the UniCredit Youth America's Cup 2024 as AC40 co-helmsman. In 2026 he was part of the Senior Team that won the Preliminary Regatta Sardinia.

Umberto Molineris is Italian 49er Champion and has placed in the world top ten several times. He joined Luna Rossa through the New Generation programme in 2021 and, as a trimmer, took part in the 2021 and 2024 America's Cup campaigns. In 2026, as AC40 trimmer, he won the Preliminary Regatta Sardinia with the Senior Team.

Boat 2 – Y&W

Margherita Porro is a multiple youth world champion and has won both the World and the European Championship in the 29er class. After moving to foiling and the Nacra 17, she joined Luna Rossa in 2024 and, as AC40 co-helmswoman, won the Puig Women's America's Cup in 2024 and the Youth & Women title at the Preliminary Regatta Sardinia 2026.

Massimiliano Antoniazzi won two Italian Optimist titles before moving to the ILCA classes, where he took European silver in both the ILCA 4 and the ILCA 6 and a world bronze. In 2024 he moved to foiling and later joined Luna Rossa. In 2026 he was part of the Youth & Women team at the Preliminary Regatta Sardinia.

Giovanni Santi won the 29er World Championship in 2024, as well as two world silvers and a bronze. After moving to the 49er, in 2025 he became Italian Champion and took bronze at the U23 Europeans. He joined Luna Rossa in 2026 and, as AC40 trimmer, won the Youth & Women title at the Preliminary Regatta Sardinia.

Alice Linussi became 420 World Champion at 15 and then won the 2019 Junior Mixed European Championship in the 470. In 2023 she finished third at the Women Foiling Gold Cup on board a 69F. She joined Luna Rossa in 2024 and was part of the women's team that won the Puig Women's America's Cup in Barcelona and the Youth & Women title at the Preliminary Regatta Sardinia 2026.

Maria Vittoria Marchesini won the 2019 Junior Mixed World Championship in the 470 and has taken world medals in both the Optimist and the 420. She then moved to foiling, finishing third at the 2023 Women Foiling Gold Cup. With Luna Rossa she was part of the women's team that won the Puig Women's America's Cup in Barcelona and the Youth & Women title at the Preliminary Regatta Sardinia 2026.

Lorenzo Sirena is a two-time Youth Nacra 15 World Champion, with titles in 2024 and 2025, and also won the 2025 Open World Championship in La Rochelle. After moving to the Nacra 17 he finished sixth at the 2026 Junior World Championship. That same year he joined Luna Rossa's youth team ahead of the Youth America's Cup 2027.

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