Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli vs. New York Yacht Club American Magic: Day 5 of the Louis Vuitton Cup Semi-Finals
by Mark Jardine 19 Sep at 05:45 PDT
19 September 2024
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli faces off against New York Yacht Club American Magic on Day 5 of the Louis Vuitton Cup Semi-Finals – 19th September 2024 © Ricardo Pinto / America’s Cup
It was a deciding day in Barcelona! If the wind cooperated, we would find out who the second finalist of the Louis Vuitton Cup would be. Luna Rossa needed to win one race, while American Magic needed to take both. It was that straightforward.
The Luna Rossa shore team worked tirelessly through the night to repair their mainsheet traveler following the catastrophic break on Wednesday, ensuring the Italian team was back on the water.
New York Yacht Club American Magic vs. Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli
In a familiar setup, American Magic positioned themselves closer to the pin end, while Luna Rossa tacked away to the right early on. Critically, the US team managed to tack over the Italian boat in the first encounter, forcing them into a down-speed tack.
During the next encounter, American Magic barely managed to tack on top of Luna Rossa, who protested, but the protest was dismissed. The Americans had to tack away due to the charging Italians coming in from leeward.
At the first windward gate, American Magic trailed by 20 seconds, which extended to 21 seconds at the first leeward gate during a relatively uneventful downwind leg.
If there were concerns aboard Luna Rossa regarding the repaired mainsheet system, they certainly didn’t show, as the communication between Jimmy Spithill and Checco Bruni remained calm and collected. However, American Magic executed a fantastic second upwind leg, narrowing the gap to just 8 seconds. With these two teams seemingly connected by a bungee, a close race was expected.
Luna Rossa initially found good pressure on the right downwind, increasing their lead, but American Magic found the same breeze patch to close the gap until they made an error, dropping off the foils briefly and losing 150 meters in the process.
The gap at the second leeward gate grew to 22 seconds, and the Americans now had one lap left to salvage their 37th America’s Cup campaign.
However, Luna Rossa was not feeling generous, extending their lead to 51 seconds at the final windward gate. Tom Slingsby seemingly prepared for their last tack.
As the Italians completed their final gybe towards the finish line, elation erupted onboard, accompanied by loud cheers as they crossed. Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli secured their place in the Louis Vuitton Cup final, while New York Yacht Club American Magic’s 37th America’s Cup campaign came to an end.
Checco Bruni remained composed throughout the race but was visibly emotional after the finish, stating, “It wasn’t an easy night in the shed, but we are incredibly proud.”
Jimmy Spithill remarked, “I want to recognize American Magic for putting up a fantastic fight. This victory is for the shore team.”
American Magic’s Tom Slingsby expressed, “Congratulations to Luna Rossa; the better team won. Given what happened yesterday, we thought we had the momentum. We must hold our heads high.”
