Emirates Team New Zealand won the 36th edition of America's Cup by beating the Italians of Luna Rossa in the decisive race, the tenth of the series held on the night off Auckland. It took seven victories to win the most important sailing competition in the world and the New Zealanders managed it with three races to spare with an overall result of 7-3. They have therefore reconfirmed themselves as champions for the second consecutive edition and for the fourth time since participating in America's Cup.
After a promising start marked by three days of regattas
closed in a draw with three wins each, Luna
Rossa was no longer able to win, also due to the frequent sudden changes in
the wind that she ran into and from which she never managed to recover. The
Italian boat, slightly slower than the New
Zealand one all things being equal, initially managed to overcome this
disadvantage with better maneuverability in the water, but once again the speed
of navigation was fundamental. Francesco Bruni, one of the two helmsmen of Luna
Rossa, after the last race said: «It was a great experience, congratulations to
New Zealand, they did a great job. Congratulations also to our team: we have
shown the whole world that we can do it too ».
Despite the final defeat, Luna Rossa's sixth America's
Cup campaign was the best: it achieved the second victory in the final in
the history of Italian sailing, becoming the first Italian boat to win two
races in a Cup series. The final difference of 7-3 was also the least clear of
all comparisons with the New Zealanders in the competition.
The New Zealanders have had quite a few advantages, as indeed
the rules of each edition of the competition provide: they had already won four
years ago, sailed in their home waters, and had been able to establish the
rules for participation. New Zealand also has 35 years of America's Cup
experience, while the current team was founded in 1993 to debut two years
later. The team leader is long-time sailor Grant Dalton; the skipper is Peter
Burling, Olympic gold medalist in sailing, who also holds the role of the
helmsman. Their team principal is an entrepreneur of Italian origins: Matteo De
Nora, grandson of the inventor of the disinfectant now on the market as
Amuchina.
