Luna Rossa dominates Naples to claim America's Cup preliminary victory
Luna Rossa sealed a commanding victory in the Louis Vuitton 38th America's Cup Preliminary Regatta on Neapolitan waters, defeating Emirates Team New Zealand in the final match race by 17 seconds. The Italian crew, led by helmsmen Peter Burling and Marco Gradoni, finished with 71 points out of 80 available, winning four of the eight fleet races across the three-day event.
The win mirrors Luna Rossa's triumph in Cagliari last May, marking a second consecutive preliminary regatta victory against the defender. Thousands lined the Lungomare Caracciolo to witness the finish, with organisers Sport e Salute reporting more than 250,000 visitors across the four-day Race Village — over 130,000 on the final day alone.
What happened on the water
The final head-to-head duel at 15:27 on Sunday decided the regatta. Luna Rossa and Team New Zealand started evenly matched, but the Italian AC40 pulled ahead midway through the course and gradually extended the gap to cross the line comfortably ahead.
Earlier in the day, the senior crews of both teams had already secured their spots in the match race. Luna Rossa won the seventh fleet race, with New Zealand second — results that mathematically eliminated third-placed Alinghi from contention.
The Italians demonstrated consistent dominance throughout the regatta. Beyond the four race victories, their point total of 71 reflected near-flawless execution in varied conditions on the Golfo di Napoli.
The challenge that awaits
The celebration on the podium — complete with spumante from team principal Max Sirena — marks only a staging post. The competition next year will differ significantly.
The AC40 one-design boats used in Naples are 40-foot foiling monohulls, standardized to test crew skill. They reach speeds exceeding 40 knots and carry a four-person crew. The Louis Vuitton Cup begins on 22 May 2027, followed by the America's Cup Match from 10 to 18 July 2027.
Those events will feature AC75 vessels — 75-foot boats with larger crews and distinct design possibilities. While Luna Rossa's current form signals strong team cohesion and tactical sharpness, the technological disparity between boat classes means past success guarantees nothing for the main event.
Sirena acknowledged the significance of the Naples result while keeping perspective. "It's proof that we have a group of great talent, with people perfectly interchangeable in different roles," he said. "The guys were extraordinary. The new crew formations worked as we expected."
He noted that the senior team confirmed itself as the benchmark, while the newly-formed Youth & Women team finished fourth with 35 points, despite limited time training together.
A city's embrace of sailing
Sport e Salute president Marco Mezzaroma and chief executive Diego Nepi Molineris framed the broader significance beyond the racing. "The real triumph isn't what ends today. It's what begins tomorrow," they said in a joint statement. The organization highlighted youth from city outskirts experiencing sailing for the first time on RS21 boats provided by the Italian Sailing Federation.
Maria Giubilei, the sole woman on Luna Rossa's senior crew, received the trophy from Italy's Sports Minister Andrea Abodi. "There are no words to describe what happened," she said. "I don't realize it yet. It's beautiful."
The Race Village installation — a floating platform dubbed "l'isola che c'è" — became a gathering point for residents and tourists. A concert by The Kolors closed the four-day program.
A bridge to wider Italian sailing culture
The America's Cup and Trieste's Barcolana regatta are deepening their collaboration. Mitja Gialuz, president of Società Velica Barcola Grignano, which organizes the world's most-participated sailing race, confirmed an ongoing social media partnership that runs through Barcolana 59 in 2027.
"We work for ever-closer collaborations," Gialuz said. "America's Cup speaks to a global but somewhat elite audience. We have the ambition to represent popular sailing. Who knows, maybe next year we'll invent something together."
Three athletes from his Trieste club sail with Luna Rossa — a connection Gialuz called "an pride for Italian sailing."
For Italy's America's Cup ambitions, Naples proved that Luna Rossa can both win and command a home crowd. The harder test arrives next summer, when the boats grow larger, the stakes higher, and the 'Old Mug' — a trophy no Italian team has ever won — becomes the prize.
