America's Cup, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Ready for Vilanova

The Preliminary Regatta in Vilanova i la Geltrú (14 - 17 September), starting in exactly one week's time, will raise the curtain on the 37th America's Cup. Although the results of the preliminary regattas do not count towards the Challenger Selection Series or the America's Cup itself, the Vilanova regatta will nonetheless mark the kick-off of the America's Cup, which will reach its climax between September and October 2024 in Barcelona.

For the first time since the 2021 edition in Auckland, the Defender and Challengers will have the opportunity to officially face each other in competition and assess their respective progress in terms of teamwork and confidence with the new boats: the yachts used for the first two preliminary races and for the Youth and Puig Women's America's Cups are the very recent AC40s, One Design monohulls (the same for all the teams), equipped with foils and capable of reaching and exceeding 40 knots of speed (around 80 km/h). Being identical for all competitors, these hulls will not reveal any information on the design progress or technological development that each team carries out (in great secrecy) for their AC75, the official and final America's Cup boat.

The races are expected to be exciting and very close for the crews (of four people) who, in addition to “covering" their opponents, will have to sail impeccably to keep their boat constantly in "flying" mode so as not to lose speed.

After the Practice Race scheduled for September14th, fleet races (up to 3 per day) will take place on the 15th and 16th, whereas the Sunday final will feature two fleet races and a match race final between the two top teams.

Although Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli has spent less time than its competitors on board the AC40, preferring to focus on the development of the LEQ12 in Cagliari, the training sessions carried out in recent months in Barcelona have shown that the sailors of the Italian team are comfortable on these boats and ready to battle in every race.

«With the Vilanova regattas the engines are warming up and we can't wait to get started», says Max Sirena, Skipper and Team Director of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli; «for us and for all the teams it will be an important test and a very useful opportunity for comparison. After two years, we will finally taste the competition and the adrenaline that only a regatta can give you. Even though we have trained less than our opponents on the AC40s, I am very satisfied with the work done by the guys in Barcelona over the last few months: we have achieved a very good level of team spirit and confidence in the manoeuvres. We are a professional team, we are here to win and we will give our best in every race. I am sure we will witness a very close and exciting event».

The members of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli summoned for the Preliminary Regatta in Vilanova i la Geltrú (the final crew will be selected on a daily basis) are: Jimmy Spithill (helmsman), Francesco Bruni (helmsman), Marco Gradoni (helmsman), Ruggero Tita (helmsman), Umberto Molineris (trimmer), Andrea Tesei (trimmer) and Vittorio Bissaro (trimmer).

The ancient Catalan town of Vilanova i la Geltrú is ready to transform itself into the mecca of sailing and to host the America's Cup enthusiasts who will arrive in town for this important regatta: the heart of the event will be in the Public Village, open every day of the regatta with free admission. Here, in addition to watching the shows and interviews - organized daily with the protagonists of the various teams - spectators will be able to watch the races on giant screens. The proximity of the regatta course, however, makes it possible to also watch the competition from the beaches along the harbour.

Italian supporters will be able to follow the regattas live on TV on September 15, 16 and 17 on Mediaset channel 20 and on dedicated Sky channels (Sky Sport 258 & Sky Sport Max).