America's Cup 2021: How Grant Dalton and Team New Zealand hit the jackpot

Team New Zealand practice. Photo / Michael Craig

OPINION:

Take a bow Grant Dalton.

Take a bow Kevin Shoebridge and the rest of the Team New Zealand brains trust.

And take a bow Dan Bernasconi and his design boffins, as well as Luna Rossa supremo Patrizio Bertelli and his team.

They've hit the jackpot with their design class decision for the 36th America's Cup.

If there were any remaining doubts about the AC75 foiling monohulls, they were extinguished after a spectacular day in the Prada Cup on Saturday.

The race between Ineos Team UK and Luna Rossa had everything, and left you wanting more.

It provided the kind of spectacle that organisers would have dreamed about when they came up with this new class.

Team New Zealand practice. Photo / Michael Craig

There was a fabulous starting sequence – with Jimmy Spithill and Sir Ben Ainslie gunning at the line simultaneously with high speed precision – and a remarkable nine lead changes throughout the 25-minute race.

We saw flat line speed – Ineos topped 50 knots at one point, with the Italians reaching 49 knots – and a suitably dramatic finish, with perhaps five metres making the difference as the 7.5 ton boats speared through the water on their final cross.

And there was some wonderful manoeuvres, highlighted by the audacious British move at the first gate, passing Luna Rossa on the inside in a gap that didn't seem to be there, the kind of sequence you might see between Sleepy Tripp and Barry Butterworth in their 1980s heyday at Western Springs Speedway.

It all played out on the stadium course – with an appreciative crowd on North Head – but whenever spectators were watching, from Balclutha to Bournemouth to Bologna, no one wanted to look away, for fear of missing something.

It was the highlight of the Prada Cup so far, but there have been other beauties.

Last Sunday's two clashes between the British and Italians (including the abandoned race) were similarly enthralling, as was the race now better remembered for America Magic's capsize.

The current AC75 recipe isn't perfect – there needs to be more one design components, less costs and a loosening of the constructed in country rule – but it's been an amazing achievement.

Ineos Team UK and Luna Rossa in action. Photo / Dean Purcell

It's easy to forget just what a gamble it was to go back to monohulls and how much scepticism there was when Dalton and Bertelli announced their initial vision in late 2017.

There were so many questions, and Team New Zealand was also brave to turn away from the AC50s, given their massive supremacy in Bermuda.

But they have been vindicated. These boats appear much safer than the catamarans, and just as spectacular.

There were some memorable races in San Francisco and to a lesser extent Bermuda, but what we have seen in Auckland has already eclipsed that.

Veteran Luna Rossa helmsman Francesco Bruni was originally unsure about the new class but has no doubts it is here to stay.

"[Sunday] was the proof that this class is a success," Bruni told the Herald. "The design at the beginning was scary, but now it is exciting. I was the first one saying 'oh, this may not work'."

"It was just on a computer and the computer was saying 'yeah, believe in it'. We were like, 'woah, I'm not sure'. But now we have proved the design is successful and there is a lot of excitement."

Heading into the Cup racing?

• Be aware that traffic will be busy, and parking will be very limited.

• Give yourself plenty of time and think about catching a ferry, train or bus instead.

• Make sure your AT HOP card is in your pocket. It's the best way to ride to the Cup.

• For more ways to enjoy race day, visit at.govt.nz/americascup.