Team NZ win America’s Cup regatta in Jeddah after Luna Rossa’s huge nosedive in final race

Final event standings (points): Team New Zealand 64, Luna Rossa 49, Alinghi 35, American Magic 28, Britannia 26, Orient Express 20. Team NZ beat Luna Rossa in the match race.

Team New Zealand ruled the Red Sea to win the America’s Cup preliminary regatta in Jeddah after Luna Rossa’s spectacular, crashing nosedive in the match race final on Sunday (NZ time).

As the Kiwi Cup defenders sailed away to victory on the final leg of the deciding race in the second preliminary regatta of the 37th Cup cycle before next year’s main event in Barcelona, the two cockpits on the Italian boat were filling up with water.

Team NZ led throughout the final but were chased doggedly by the quick Luna Rossa boat, co-helmed by sailing’s emerging star, 19-year-old Italian Marco Gradoni.

But the Italian crew’s hopes in Saudi Arabia ended with a dramatic splashdown after attempting a desperate manoeuvre around the final mark to catch the Kiwis with one leg to go.

They veered too high around the bend and stopped dead when the nose of their boat plunged into the water, allowing Team NZ to cruise to the finish line.

Gradoni said there were problems on the boat with its functions which may have caused the nosedive at 18 to 20 knots.

“It was also our bad, we could do better, but that’s what happened,” Gradoni said.

Gradoni and his team-mates, co-helmsman Ruggero Tita and trimmers Vittorio Bissaro and Umberto Molineris, all looked stunned after crashing into the water and had to retire.

It was another case of Team NZ’s dominance against the syndicate they beat to win the America’s Cup in Auckland in 2021, albeit in the smaller AC40 Cup boats raced in this year’s preliminary regattas.

They went bow to bow with Luna Rossa, their greatest competitor of the five challengers in three days of sailing in Jeddah, and finished with six wins from the regatta’s nine races to the Italians’ three, including the decisive success in the final.

It’s not yet clear who might emerge to race Team NZ in the America’s Cup match race in Barcelona next October. Racing in the larger AC75 boats doesn’t start until the third preliminary regatta on the Spanish coast next August.

Onboard their Te Kākahi AC40, the Kiwi crew led by Peter Burling, with co-helmsman Nathan Outteridge and trimmers Andy Maloney and Blair Tuke, showed their class in the opening regattas in Vilanova i la Geltrú in September and this week in Jeddah.

Team NZ finished second by one point to American Magic in Vilanova, although bad weather denied them a chance of victory when the final race was cancelled.

“It’s a massive part of the campaign, these two preliminary events. We thought we put on a good show in Vilanova but didn’t get the chance for the match race,” Burling said.

“This weekend, we’ve gone one better and made improvements as a group. As a team, we’re really happy. This gives us the platform to build towards the America’s Cup.”

With Team NZ already in the final after guaranteeing their place on day two, Luna Rossa made the perfect start to the final racing day by winning the first fleet race ahead of American Magic in second and the Kiwis in third, progressing to the decider.

The Swiss Alinghi team emerged to finish second behind the Kiwis in the day’s second fleet race when the Italians chose to retire with the final in mind after falling off their foils. The Britannia and French Orient Express teams were well out of contention.

Team NZ led the fleet all week and their celebrations were ignited with fireworks from the port in Saudi Arabia.

America’s Cup preliminary regatta, Jeddah (final racing day)

Fleet race one (points)

1st: Luna Rossa 10

2nd: American Magic 7

3rd: Team New Zealand 5

4th: Orient Express 3

5th: Britannia 2

6th: Alinghi 1

Fleet race two (points)

1st: Team New Zealand 10

2nd: Alinghi 7

3rd: American Magic 5

4th: Orient Express 3

5th: Britannia 2

6th: Luna Rossa (DNF) 1

Match race

1st: Team New Zealand

2nd: Luna Rossa