America's Cup PR2: Luna Rossa extend points lead on dramatic Day 2 in Naples

by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World NZ 26 Sep 18:49 BST

Luna Rossa - Day 2 - Louis Vuitton America's Cup - Preliminary Regatta Naples - September 26, 2026 © Ricardo Pinto / America's Cup

Host team, Luna Rossa leads the overnight leaderboard after the second day of racing in spectacular conditions on the Bay of Naples.

However, the French team, La Roche-Posay, are unlucky not to have scored a hat-trick of wins, after capsizing for a second time in two races - this time while leading in Race 5.

Led by three-time America's Cup-winning skipper Peter Burling (NZL), the crack Italian team were only once out of the top three in the four races sailed in fresh winds and flat seas on the Bay of Naples, which is proving to be a spectacular venue for racing in the America's Cup classes. The caveat is that this is Autumn, and the America's Cup proper will be sailed in Spring, but there is a good chance similar conditions will reappear.

Surprisingly, after winning all three races on the Practice day, and coming away with a win and a second from Day 1, the Italians emerged from Day 2 with only one win to their credit - in the first race of the day. They scored sixth in the second race of the day, and then improved to return to score top three places again.

Emirates Team New Zealand Senior, co-helmed by Seb Menzies and skippered by Nathan Outteridge, blotted their pointscore with an 8th place in Race 3, but otherwise remained in the top three, but have dropped from a 5pt leaderboard deficit to be 8pts in arrears after Day 2. Their objective will be to maintain their margin on the remaining teams, and then try to knock off Luna Rossa in the Final.

For the French team, it will be more simulator time to perfect their crew co-ordination after the team capsized for a second time in two days of racing. Today they had a swim on the final gybe of Race 4, while leading, with Emirates Team New Zealand Women and Youth grabbing the race win, and improving the rest of the eight finishers by one place.

But for that stumble the French would have come away with three wins on the trot, and the story headlines of the day would have been quite different. So would their pointscore. Counting zero points following their capsize at the start of Race 2 the three-peat of wins today would have lifted La Roche-Posay Racing Team to third overall, just 3pts away from the second placed Kiwi team, and with a grand chance of making Sunday's final.