Luna Rossa Challenge scored its third point of the Louis Vuitton Cup, the America’s Cup Challenger Series. The Italian team has set up an anticipated showdown tomorrow, on July 21, 2013, with training partner Emirates Team New Zealand.
34th America's Cup - Louis Vuitton Cup - Round Robin - Luna Rossa vs Artemis Racing (DNS) - Photo credit to ACEA/Photo Gilles Martin-Raget
The Italians and Kiwis are scheduled to start at 12:15 pm PT. Tomorrow’s race, the second head-to-head meeting between the teams that spent many hours training together in New Zealand, will be broadcast on the America’s Cup YouTube channel, subject to territorial restrictions. The Kiwis won the first meeting by nearly five and a half minutes.
“Obviously we have lots of ground to make up on the Kiwis, and we knew it,” said Luna Rossa helmsman Chris Draper. “We’re sailing better, tacking better, our upwind performance seems better, and the jibing is getting there. We’re feeling more confident handling the boat, and hopefully we’ll have bridged the gap when we’re racing tomorrow.”
Luna Rossa Challenge - Image credit to ACEA/Photo Gilles Martin-Raget
The wind conditions tomorrow are expected to be ideal for racing.
“San Francisco Bay is a fantastic spot to sail. The breeze is in just about every day,” said Emirates Team New Zealand wing trimmer Glenn Ashby. “This is a wonderful place to sail. The AC72 is a showcase when there’s good breeze. At the end of day that’s what sailing is all about.”
Luna Rossa was scheduled to race Artemis Racing today, but the Swedish team is still in the boatshed. The on-water umpires disqualified the Swedish team some 10 minutes after Luna Rossa started under Rule 60.5 of the ISAF Racing Rules of Sailing America’s Cup edition.
The Italian AC72 recorded a top speed of 38.37 knots on the first reach leg of the course.
The schedule ahead:
• Sunday, July 21, Emirates Team New Zealand vs. Luna Rossa Challenge
• Tuesday, July 23, Luna Rossa Challenge vs. Emirates Team New Zealand
• Thursday, July 25, Artemis Racing vs. Luna Rossa Challenge
• Saturday, July 27, Emirates Team New Zealand vs. Artemis Racing
