Luna Rossa racing on day one. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Luna Rossa racing on day one. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Just one day into competitive racing and the landscape of the America's Cup has changed significantly.
Before Friday's opening day of the Prada Cup, many believed Luna Rossa and American Magic were still ahead of Ineos Team UK after what the teams showed during last month's World Series.
Instead, theBritish syndicate took wins over both other challengers to kick off their campaign on the water in earnest.
The competing syndicates all expected each other to be competitive come race day, but after the results of the first round robin, Luna Rossa helmsman Jimmy Spithill said the landscape of the competition had clearly changed.
"We knew it was going to be tough," Spithill said. "It's actually a great thing for the challengers to have close, competitive teams out there pushing each other because the ultimate goal is that one of us wants to win and beat the Kiwis."
Luna Rossa sailed the closest contest of the day, finishing 28 seconds behind Ineos Team UK who had earlier beaten American Magic by 1min 20sec, and although were beaten at the start and had a couple of issues rounding the marks, they closed the gap late on the British boat - cutting 10 seconds off the lead on the fifth leg.
"It's only the first race and the good thing is there's a lot more performance there," Spithill said. "We didn't sail that well and we can perform a lot better than that.
"Generally our manoeuvres were pretty good, there was a few things we definitely need to sharpen up but we've still got to go back and really go through the footage."
Ineos Team UK got the better of the Italian syndicate at the start of their race, with a left shift seeing both vessels start on port tack but the Brits getting off to the better start and quickly establishing themselves on the right side of the course where the conditions had been stronger.
Spithill admitted some small mistakes gave their opposition some breathing room in the race, but credited Sir Ben Ainslie's team for a deserved win.
"The main takeaway from today was that it was a very difficult track to race from behind on. It was really tough to get any opportunities and Ben and the guys really didn't make any mistakes."
Luna Rossa will be the last team to have a two-race day this weekend, with American Magic set for two races in the second round robin on Saturday.
While the teams were sailing in winds of up to 15 knots on Friday, the forecast for Saturday was looking a lot lighter with indications 24 hours out of winds lower than 10 knots.
While the lighter winds might worry the other syndicates, the Italians have previously commented on their strength in light conditions.
Luna Rossa will meet American Magic in the first race of the day, before American Magic take on Ineos Team UK.
Heading into the Cup racing?
• Give yourself plenty of time and think about catching a ferry, train or bus to watch the Cup.
• Make sure your AT HOP card is in your pocket. It's the best way to ride.
