America’s Cup: French challengers capsize as Luna Rossa, Team NZ end day one on top in Naples
With nine boats on the starting line of the second America’s Cup preliminary regatta, there is little room on the starting line for error.
French outfit La Roche Posay Racing Team provided an example of just that, capsizing at the start of the second race in Naples this morning.
The crew were over the starting line early and didn’t have the space to cut back behind the line before the race began, instead sending their AC40 into a high-speed nosedive and seeing the boat fall onto its side.
From the way the day started, it didn’t seem like a high-speed dive would be possible as the wind was below the 7.5-knot limit required to get racing underway.
Racing at the same venue where the Cup will be held in less than a year, there was a near 90-minute delay before an attempt was made to get racing as the wind held below the limit. That attempt was short-lived, with the boats all parking up at the first gate.
About 30 minutes later, a second attempt was made, but the race came to the same abrupt end.
Eventually, the wind served up quality racing conditions, and Peter Burling’s Luna Rossa ended the day at the top of the leaderboard after two races; the session cut a race short because of the delay.
After winning all three races in Friday morning’s practice, the Luna Rossa team again showed their class on home waters to take a second and a first, holding a five-point lead over Emirates Team New Zealand’s main crew at the top of the standings. Team NZ’s women and youth crew sat seventh.
It was somewhat of a surprise to see the Kiwi crew near the top of the leaderboard as they put together an average day on the water.
In the day’s first race, they could only manage a fifth-place finish. They made a strong start, but fell behind newcomers ARC Team USA and both Italian crews – Burling’s main team and the Women and Youth set-up – on the second leg to ultimately finish the race fourth.
In an eventful second race, the Kiwis did well to claw their way through the fleet and secure a third-placed finish, ahead of the Team NZ Women and Youth team in fourth, behind Luna Rossa and Switzerland’s Tudor Team Alinghi, who sparred at the head of the pack throughout the race.
In both of the day’s races, Team NZ’s main crew made the most manoeuvres of any boat on the water.
Team NZ came into the regatta looking to go one better than the second-placed finish they had in the first preliminary regatta in Cagliari in May, where they were beaten in the final by Luna Rossa.
Again, the top two teams after up to eight fleet races will square off in a match race to decide the event winner, with Team NZ currently holding the second spot based on finishing higher than Team USA in the second race.
In their first competitive sailing of the cycle since joining the campaign late, ARC Team USA continued their impressive form from practice racing to win the first proper contest of the weekend.
With the day’s schedule cut short, race management intends to run four fleet races tomorrow morning (NZT), before the event concludes on Monday morning.
Standings after day one
Luna Rossa (Italy) – 19 points
Team New Zealand – 14
ARC Team USA – 14
Luna Rossa women and youth (Italy) – 13
GB2 (Great Britain) – 13
Alinghi (Switzerland) – 11
Team NZ women and youth – 11
GB1 (Great Britain) – 6
La Roche Posay Racing Team (France) – 6
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.