America's Cup PR2: Close quarters combat on Bay of Naples - Day 2
by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World NZ 27 Sep 04:59 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.
However, the points cost of two capsizes has put the French team on a very steep slope with just two races to make the Final.
After six races, La Roche-Posay Racing Team are 20points, or two race wins behind the series leader Luna Rossa. Against the second team on the points table, Emirates Team New Zealand, the French have a 12-point deficit - which may be easier to close if they can win both races, and the Kiwis get themselves into some race course strife.
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, in the hope that similar conditions to Day 2 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, and 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.
A feature of the racing in fresh 16-18kt winds and flattish seas was the way the teams chose to mix it up, particularly closing into the windward mark, and protests and penalties were frequent - with the occasional double penalties which proved to be expensive.
Boathandling also became a significant factor and able to turn a good place on its ear, in an instant. Emirates Team New Zealand (Senior team) were proof of that when they lost control of their AC40 at the final rounding mark, in Race 3 - forestalling their recovery, and joining their Youth and Womens team at the back of the fleet.
There were no real excuses for top-of-the-table Luna Rosa finishing in 6th place in Race 4. They got caught in the ruck at the start of the race were unable to break through the fleet. In other events, this is put down to rig turbulence, but it didn't seem to be the case in the one design AC40s crewed by arguably the best sailors on the planet. Rather, Day 2 seemed to be one of applied tactical and sailing brilliance, and small errors - and not being prepared to take calculated risks - resulted in some dramatic switches in fleet placings.
Looking ahead to the Main Event next May, provided the breeze arrives, the Bay of Naples appears to be an excellent venue -if they use the current course location and don't move offshore. Certainly, the fans couldn't complain with a ringside view of F1-style racing. In AC75s, that spectacle will be magnified manyfold - particularly in the fleet racing sections of the America's Cup regatta.
For the French team, it will be more simulator time to perfect their crew coordination 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.
The French are one of two teams who have won two races of the six sailed to date. Of those six races, there have been four different winners - again testament to the closeness of the competition.
In the AC75s, boat design and setup will be a much bigger factor, and it would be a mistake to roll a top performance (or a bad one) in this regatta into the America's Cup.
An end of First Term Reportcard
Certainly, Teams will have their own takeaways from this regatta, which marks the Beginning of the End for most.
Luna Rossa can be well pleased with the way their intake of sailors and coaches have gelled together. Their biggest challenge will be keeping the Italian passion under control, in a home America's Cup, and to keep thinking clearly. Their Youth and Womens has been steady if not unspectacular, but have shown that they can more than hold their own in open "adult" competition. Their coaching team seems to be having a significant impact.
Emirates Team New Zealand can also be pleased with the way their new team has pulled together. If they are smart they won't judge their progress on the outcome of the Final. Like Luna Rossa their real success story is the performance of their Youth and Womens team, which at this stage of the regatta is the only team, in their peer group, to have won a race. It means they have depth in their squad and also a group that can be very competitive in match racing training in AC40s - which will be essential in the finishing phase of their campaign.
Tudor Alinghi have been the surprise packet of the series. Currently, they are in third place after six races, and the combination of the steady Paul Goodison and the fiery Phil Robertson seems to have gelled nicely, with the Swiss team taking some risks and reaping the rewards. However, in the Cup they will stand or fall on the performance of their AC75.
ARC USA will come away knowing they have the ability to mix it with other teams - based largely on their first race performance; however, they failed to fire on Day 2, and will be well aware of the task they have ahead of them in the AC75 world. The team must appoint a skipper and let the team coalesce around him. The team have to find a regular racing spot for Harry Melges in the SailGP circuit, and allow him to develop the considerable talent he displayed in the 52fter circuit. Getting around in a moon boot and crutches is hardly ideal preparation for this series, but it says a lot for Melges and the team that they can make it work.
La Roche-Posay have returned a card speckled with race wins, capsizes, and back-of-the-fleet finishes. In racing on Day 2, they looked unbeatable - on the water, and on the leaderboard if you put a hand over the capsize in the dying stages of Race 5. Of course, the quality of the combination of Diego Botin and Florian Trittel is apparent every time they sail on another racecourse - be it the Olympics or SailGP. The challenge is to make this gel with the other highly talented members of their squad, and to get the AC75 to perform at the top of its potential.
The alarm bells should be ringing for the Brits. Both squads have had their moments and issues, along with significant external distractions and more than their share of bad luck. But those aren't the characteristics of successful teams. On the leaderboard, both squads have had some good places. It will be interesting to see their performance in the Final two races and in the remainder of the SailGP Season 6. But we've seen this movie before and twice the Brits have turned a train wreck of a pre-series build up to win the Round Robin, and be the first Finalist in 2021, and be the Challenger in 2024. So maybe this campaign is just following the same path.
Two more races will be sailed in the Preliminary on Sunday, before the winner-take-all Final, and bragging rights until the start of the Cup in May 2027.
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