America's Cup: Sirena "not impressed" with first two AC75 launchings
by Fabio Pozzo/Sail-World.com/nz 18 Oct 13:10 BST
19 October 2020
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli's Boat 2 in the team base in Auckland, ahead of its launch on Tuesday October 20, 2020 © Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli
Italian America's Cup Challenger, Luna Rossa is due to be launched in Auckland on Tuesday morning.
It will be the third AC65 launched since Friday.
Leading Italian newspaper La Stampa's America's Cup correspondent Fabio Pozzo spoke with Luna Rossa Team Director and Skipper, Max Sirena, from the team base Auckland.
Sirena was seconded to Emirates Team New Zealand for their 2017 America's Cup campaign in Bermuda.
Questioned as to the differences between their first launched AC75 and the second to be launched on Tuesday, Sirena responded: “There has been evolution, but without upsetting. We had the luck and the skill of having taken the right direction already with the first boat. For us there are many differences, even if in the eyes of the layman they may not jump to the eyes ".
He was non-committal on the question of the boom which was "hidden in the belly of the hull. Will it be the same in boat 2?"
"This is something we pushed harder than all the other teams, who probably haven't had time to develop this idea," was Sirena's response.
Sirena is one of the few people to have seen the designs of all three Challengers for the 36th America's Cup. Scanning the Class of 2021, he was non-committal on the New Zealand boat, but had stronger views on two of the Challengers.
“We know nothing of the New Zealanders, holders of the trophy. We certainly expect something different than their Boat 1 (Te Aihe). On paper they are the strongest team. We know something more than those of the British and Americans (who baptized their boat 2 in these hours) ”.
Of the three Challengers, Luna Rossa's first boat was the most envied - with its skiff genre hull and and pronounced centreline skeg. It was expected that the British and US challengers would have taken the same design direction as the Italians.
“Ours of the four teams is the most extreme boat. Perhaps the British and the Americans have come to our side a bit. Which does not mean that ours is the fastest… ”.
Did the boats of the British and Americans impress you?
“Today I'm not impressed. I didn't come home shocked, in short, after seeing them. We are satisfied with our work. These boats are very complex, much more than those of previous editions, a thousand times more, perhaps even more than an F1 car ”, Sirena replied.
For the full interview click here