Luna Rossa celebrate after beating Ineos Team UK in the Prada Cup final. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Luna Rossa celebrate after beating Ineos Team UK in the Prada Cup final. Photo / Brett Phibbs
OPINION:
The Prada Cup is done and dusted so I'll fast forward to the question everyone is asking – are Luna Rossa good enough to beat Team New Zealand in the 36th America's Cup match race?
The thing which has surprised me most about the racing so far is howwell the Italian boat and team have developed in Auckland.
I recall seeing them four months ago and they were quite unstable and looking pretty ropey around the course. That has been completely ironed out, and they are now well and truly locked in.
But have they improved to the point of being able to beat Team New Zealand, the America's Cup defenders?
Luna Rossa celebrate after beating Ineos Team UK in the Prada Cup final. Photo / Brett Phibbs
It's still going to be very tough for the Italians, and my money is firmly on Team New Zealand.
My prediction has always been that TNZ have the fastest boat, and the fastest boat always wins the America's Cup. And nothing has changed there.
Te Rehutai is a well refined boat, and the team have gone even further into the design and development realm in the last two weeks, proving there is still no time for sleep.
They will obviously be a bit rusty, initially, when it comes to split second decision making in the tight pre-starts.
But TNZ potentially have speed up their sleeves, so a conservative approach to the pre-starts could be a strategy.
Team New Zealand on the water. Photo / Mike Scott
A good thing about Team New Zealand is that they are all young, and the younger generation is very adaptable. As the tactics and pre-starts take shape in the best-of-13 series, they will be able to improvise and adapt to meet whatever challenges are thrown at them.
TNZ are in race mode now, they will be fully focused on what lies ahead.
The writing was on the wall for the Brits in the final Prada Cup races because we already knew they weren't the complete package in light airs. It wasn't pretty for the Brits in winds below 12 knots.
The Prada Cup did confirm the Italians will be strong in that sub-12 knot range, and having eight competitive races under the belt - while TNZ could only practice - is another nice piece to their armoury going into the America's Cup.
My prediction, Team New Zealand will have a lick of boat speed over them. The defenders are in a strong position to retain the Cup from what I've seen.
