Even start, but Luna Rossa has a slight advantage

The skippers in the America’s Cup usually appear at a press conference before the final race. Jimmy Spithill from Luna Rossa was on time, but his opponent Ben Ainslie from Ineos Britannia was not. Sir Ben was six minutes late; those responsible at Louis Vuitton, whose cup is at stake, had already started the press conference.

Ainslie was too late in the first race of the Challenger final on Friday. Luna Rossa clearly won the all-important start. The first day of racing was awaited with greater excitement because the conditions off the coast of Barcelona were borderline for the first time: the maximum permissible wind limit of 21 knots was exceeded several times for a short time, and the waves were also at the upper limit at a height of over one meter. “We will have to be careful because we will start in pretty difficult conditions, with wind and lots of waves, more than we have seen so far here in Barcelona,” Max Sirena, Luna Rossa team director, told Italian media. “But since the track and the conditions are the same for our competitors, we have to be good and make one less mistake than the others.”

Jimmy Spithill wins the start

The Italians managed to do this in the opening race to the final of the two best challengers. They guided their elegant, silver-colored copper almost flawlessly through the rough sea. The skipper Jimmy Spithill chose the start clearly in his favor and forced his opponent to make an early turn. From then on he kept the British at bay. With 52.3 knots (fast 97 km/h), the Italians achieved a speed record in this 37th America’s Cup.

“We need to sail more aggressively in the second race and work on our setup,” said the injured Ben Ainslie. The English’s speed deficit was more than a knot on average; both upwind and with the wind they were slower than their opponents.

Luna Rossa dominated the second race

The second race was a mirror image of the first match race: The British, who had the right of way in the starting zone, were the first to cross the line and easily dominated the Italians from the beginning to the end. This meant they equalized the series at 1-1. However, the race data showed smaller differences between the competitors than in the first race – the average speeds of the two boats were quickly the same.

The outcome of the first day of racing suggests that under these conditions the two boats are about the same speed – but Luna Rossa has a slight advantage. Spithill said it was very difficult to keep the boat under control when sailing downwind. Likewise, Ainslie said it’s not easy to explain to people what it’s like to sail the boat in these conditions. “The boat is at its limit and so are the people.”

The winner of the Challenger Final is the team that first wins seven races.