What to watch for at the Naples America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta this weekend

Helen Fretter

The second America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta cycle kicks off in Naples today – with just eight months to go until AC38, what can we learn from the AC40 fleet racing?

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The second Preliminary Regatta in the 38th America’s Cup cycle kicks off for real today, with three days of fleet racing over Friday 25-Sunday 27 September.

Six teams are racing, with eight AC40s lining up on the same course (Luna Rossa (ITA), Emirates Team New Zealand, and the British GB2 Cobham Ultra squad are all fielding a Women’s and Youth boat as well as a senior team).

Competition takes place from 1400-1600, with a series of fleet races before the top two teams will then go through to a final match race on Sunday (see our How to Watch guide).

It’s the first time we’ve seen racing on the Bay of Naples, the sailing area for next year’s Louis Vuitton America’s Cup, and Women’s and Youth America’s Cups.

It’s also the first time that we’ve seen some of the new team crew combinations, albeit in the four-up one-design AC40s rather than the five-up AC75 configuration. So what clues might this event give us about next summer’s performance?

Both Luna Rossa teams looked exceptionally strong during practice racing ahead of the Naples Preliminary Regatta. Photo: Ricardo Pinto / America’s Cup

1. The Italians are looking good. Very, very good.

In yesterday’s official practice races the Luna Rossa Principal team, skippered by Pete Burling with Marco Gradoni on the opposite wheel, dominated to win all three races easily. Burling has commented that he’s left good sailors on the bench for this event – most notable being Ruggero Tita, who didn’t race on either boat yesterday. Both the Italian Principal and Women’s Youth team are looking like forces to be reckoned with.

2. Should the Kiwis be concerned?

The Defenders are used to looking like dominant at this point in the Cup cycle. The New Zealand camp also know more than anyone else just how good their ex-skipper Burling is. But the Emirates Team New Zealand senior boat were second overall in practice racing, so it will be interesting to see if they up the aggression over the event to push their ex-team mate on the Italian boat.

The new 24 Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup entry, ARC USA, in practice racing ahead of the Naples Preliminary Regatta. Photo Ian Roman/America’s Cup

3. The Americans are going to be a force to be reckoned with.

While the Italians and Kiwi teams have been ominously visible in banking hours and hours of training time, the very new ARC Team USA squad is more of a dark horse. However, in yesterday’s practice racing the crew, with Harry Melges IV and Lucas Calabrese at the helm, looked like they’d had as much time in the boat as anyone, pulling off some polished manoeuvres. Will be fascinating to see how they perform over a full weekend of competition.

4.The Brits are under pressure

It was a concerning start for the British GB1 crew after a collision with an Alinghi chase boat during unofficial practice racing left helmsman Dylan Fletcher with a black eye, and GB1 with a significant gouge in their starboard foil arm.

The Swiss team donated a foil, the British shore crew pulled an all-nighter, and GB1 were back out for official practice racing. However, the Brits are under pressure on multiple fronts – not least the ongoing legal dispute with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INOES about ownership of the AC75. The British team are also one of a handful of teams whose SailGP team is very close to their America’s Cup squad (Fletcher helms both, while SailGP strategist Hannah Mills skippers GB2), and the SailGP team have got a hard fight on their hands after slipping down to fifth in the season points, out of the top three spots for the grand final.

The GB1 squad: helmsmen Dylan Fletcher and Ben Cornish, with trimmers Bledyyn Mon and Andrea Tesei. Photo: Lloyd Images/GB1

Team boss Sir Ben Ainslie famously performed at his best when riled up with his back against the wall, so it will be interesting to see if that team culture continues into the current sailing squad. Certainly yesterday they showed some good speed and confidence, though there were also a few punishing mistakes.

5. French and Swiss have got some work to do

The French La Roche-Posay Racing Team looked like a potential force to be reckoned with in the first Preliminary Regatta in Cagliari in May, but both they and the Tudor Team Alinghi boat were in the pack for much of yesterday’s practice racing. However, the French got a great start in the final race yesterday, and no doubt both camps will be looking to make progression over the weekend.

Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta Naples. Photo: Ian Roman/America’s Cup

6. Australia not yet out to play

This is the last opportunity to race before the Challengers’ events next year, and Team Australia are not yet on the water. With eight months to go, they will have a huge amount to do – albeit the crew are tight knit and well practiced at sailing together.

7. Naples is a proper racecourse

Good news: there are shifts, and passing lanes, and opportunities. The America’s Cup will – hopefully – not be a pure drag race. Naples weather is complex. And while the fastest AC75 will still likely win, this venue could put a bigger emphasis on tactics and strategy – so it will be interesting to see how the crews use their ‘fifth man’ role.