The Italy sailing syndicate Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli hosted a surprise crew member during recent training runs off Napoli: football legend Fabio Cannavaro, who joined the AC40 foiling monohull for drills in the very bay that will host September 2026's second Louis Vuitton Preliminary Regatta. With the 2027 America's Cup anchored to Italy for the first time and Napoli confirmed as host city, the symbolic appearance of the 2006 World Cup champion underscores the growing national stakes—and the urgency—of Luna Rossa's campaign.
Why This Matters:
• Luna Rossa's second preliminary regatta runs September 24–27, 2026 in Napoli, a critical dress rehearsal ahead of the 2027 Cup finals.
• The team won the first preliminary in Cagliari in May 2026, beating Emirates Team New Zealand in the final match race.
• Italy's bid to reclaim the America's Cup now includes six challengers competing against the defender Emirates Team New Zealand, with the Louis Vuitton Cup series serving as the elimination round before Luna Rossa can face the Kiwi defenders.
The Road to Napoli: What Luna Rossa Has Achieved So Far
Luna Rossa clinched victory at the Sardinia preliminary regatta in late May 2026, securing first place through eight fleet races and a decisive match-race finish against Emirates Team New Zealand. The Youth & Women's squad, led by skipper Marco Gradoni and helmsman Margherita Porro, also captured their division trophy, reinforcing Luna Rossa's multi-tier approach. That momentum now shifts to the Gulf of Napoli, where conditions will mirror those of the 2027 finals and where local knowledge could prove decisive.
The team is rotating its two AC40 monotipo foilers between Napoli and Cagliari, leveraging every weather window to maximize on-water hours. These identical 40-foot boats serve dual purposes: they generate live-racing data for the preliminary series and function as testbeds for tactics, crew rotation, and systems integration ahead of the main event aboard the much larger AC75 race yacht. Team CEO Max Sirena, an eight-time Cup veteran with two wins on his résumé (2010 with BMW Oracle, 2017 with Emirates Team New Zealand), has emphasized that every preliminary regatta feeds directly into the development timeline for the AC75, the 75-foot hydrofoiling weapon that will contest the 2027 match.
The Star-Studded Crew Behind Luna Rossa
Luna Rossa's roster reads like a who's who of modern sailing. Peter Burling, the two-time Olympic gold medalist and three-time Cup champion, joined as starboard helmsman and is chasing a fourth consecutive title. Ruggero Tita, two-time Olympic gold medalist in the Nacra 17 class, helms alongside him. Expert trimmers Umberto Molineris and Vittorio Bissaro complete the sailing team, while Gianluigi "Gigi" Ugolini—who co-helmed the 2024 Youth Cup win—and Federico Colaninno serve as reserves.
Behind the scenes, coaching firepower includes Francesco Bruni, the former helmsman now in a mentoring role, plus Josh Junior, Hamish Willcox, and Philippe Presti as senior coaches. Simone Salvà coaches the Youth & Women's program. Horacio Carabelli leads the design office, overseeing the engineering of nearly 99% Italian-made components—a source of national pride and a demonstration of Italy's manufacturing capability in high-performance composites, electronics, and hydraulics.
What This Means for Residents
For people living in Italy, the America's Cup is more than a sailing race—it is a test of industrial capacity, a tourism accelerator, and a political commitment. Napoli's waterfront regeneration hinges in part on the Cup's infrastructure demands. Teams are currently berthed at the Comando Logistico della Marina Militare on Nisida but will relocate to the redeveloped Bagnoli district once works conclude. That western quarter of Napoli has languished for decades; the Cup is serving as both deadline and showcase for its return to public use.
Economically, preliminary regattas bring international media, team personnel, and sponsors into local hotels, restaurants, and transport networks. The September 2026 event will function as a full-scale rehearsal: course setup, broadcast infrastructure, spectator zones, and maritime security will all be stress-tested three months before the main season begins in 2027. Residents can expect road closures, heightened activity around the port, and a preview of the multi-month international spotlight that will descend on the city next year.
The Challenger Field and the Louis Vuitton Cup Gauntlet
Luna Rossa must first survive the Louis Vuitton Cup—the challenger elimination series—before earning the right to face Emirates Team New Zealand in the America's Cup Match. Entries closed March 31, 2026, and the current lineup includes:
• Defender: Emirates Team New Zealand
• Challenger of Record: GB1 (INEOS Britannia, Great Britain)
• Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (Italy)
• Alinghi Red Bull Racing (Switzerland)
• La Roche-Posay Racing Team (France, formerly Orient Express)
• American Racing Challenger Team USA (United States, operating under Sail Newport and absorbing assets from the defunct American Magic)
• An Australian challenger from the Royal Prince Edward Yacht Club
This brings the total to seven teams: one defender and six challengers, all vying in the Louis Vuitton Cup for the single finalist berth. The format and schedule for the Louis Vuitton Cup will be finalized later this year, but historical precedent suggests round-robin fleet racing followed by knockout match racing—a gauntlet that has eliminated Luna Rossa before.
Strategic and Technical Pressures
Max Sirena has staked Italy's technological reputation on this campaign, arguing that Luna Rossa demonstrates the country's capacity to compete at the frontier of materials science, hydrodynamics, and control systems. Yet that technical complexity brings vulnerability: during the May preliminaries, the Youth & Women's AC40 suffered a software fault that compromised performance, a reminder that digital systems aboard these flying boats operate at the edge of reliability.
Parallel to AC40 training, the design and build team in Cagliari is finalizing the AC75's configuration—hull shape, foil geometry, sail plan, onboard hydraulics, and flight-control algorithms. The preliminary regattas provide real-world data on wind patterns, sea state, and thermal effects in the Gulf of Napoli, intelligence that feeds directly into the AC75's setup. The defender, Emirates Team New Zealand, enjoyed the privilege of co-authoring the Cup protocol and class rules alongside the challenger of record, giving the Kiwis a head start in rule interpretation and design optimization.
The September Showdown and Beyond
The September 24–27, 2026 regatta will be the last major public event in Napoli before winter and the final opportunity for teams to test equipment and tactics in race conditions ahead of the 2027 finals. Luna Rossa's local advantage—training in home waters, logistical proximity, crowd support—will be scrutinized by rivals seeking insight into Italian strategy and boat speed.
After September, attention shifts to the AC75 launch and sea trials in preparation for the 2027 season. The Cup's decisive phases—Louis Vuitton Cup qualifiers, semifinals, finals, and the America's Cup Match itself—will unfold in Napoli in 2027. Victory would mark Italy's first America's Cup title and validate decades of investment by the Circolo della Vela Sicilia and sponsors Prada and Pirelli.
For now, the sight of Fabio Cannavaro aboard a foiling monohull in his home city serves as a vivid reminder: Italy is treating this campaign as a matter of national prestige, blending sporting excellence with industrial showcase and urban renewal. Whether Luna Rossa can translate that ambition into silverware will be decided in the coming months, on the same waters where the team is drilling today.
