A black day for Luna Rossa, who after seeing the match point go up in smoke on Monday, today in the waters of Barcelona suffered two defeats in the races against American Magic in what should have been the decisive day in the semifinal phase of the Louis Vuitton Cup. From a 4-0 lead in the preliminary round (which is played as the best of 9 races) they slipped to a narrow margin of 4-3, due to a disqualification and the failure of the mainsail due to a mechanical problem. While Ineos Britannia, who in the other semifinal round won 5-2 over Alinghi, has already cashed in on the finalist ticket. A comeback by American Magic that makes you tremble. Only one point was needed to banish the spectre of Oracle 2013, when the Americans, trailing 1-8, won the Americas Cup against New Zealand, 9-8. But that didn’t happen today either. And the Prada Pirelli team has a night of work ahead of them against the clock to repair the boat and be competitive again for tomorrow’s verdict, in race number 8 and possible number 9, which will be held in the event of a draw. In today’s first match of the Italian team against the American Luna Rossa – with Ffrancesco Bruni and James Spithil at the helm, and Bruno Rossetti. Enrico Voltolini. Emanuele Liuzzi and Cesare Gabbia as cyclors, with trimmers Molineris and Tesei – was overtaken at the start by America Magic. But taking advantage of the upwind speed, it managed to overtake and regain the advantage. Then, on the first downwind leg, betrayed by a drop in wind, it fell off the foil and was overtaken by Patriot who flew away quickly. Forced to look for wind, the Italian team went out of the boundary, from the edge of the race course, deliberately seeking a penalty, but finding the right strength to fly back on the foil and get a new overtaking. The two challengers then proceeded almost side by side until gate 3, where Luna Rossa, which was supposed to give precedence to American Magic, missed the buoy, with a new belly flop from the foil, unable to get up again. While Patriot managed to close the race in a sprint, obtaining the 4-2 in the rankings. Luna Rossa was also disqualified for going outside the race course. Without losing her nerve, in the second match – the seventh race – Luna Rossa held her own against Patriot with a series of overtakings and counter-overtakings. And she was still convinced she could do it, to pull on board that one point that separates her from the final. But ‘bad luck’ was lurking: after a sudden belly flop while she was on the stern side, The Italian ACS ran aground, due to the mainsail traveler suddenly giving way. And he chose not to retire while waiting for American Magic to finish its course to define the 4-3 score. With morale in tatters, the countdown to repair the boat in time for tomorrow’s race began. “We have a night of work ahead of us, it won’t make things easier, but we’ll make it,” James Spihill assured. Tomorrow will be another thriller day in the waters of Barcelona.
John
John, founder of Odnako, combined his journalism degree with technical expertise to revolutionize global news consumption. Before Odnako's 2011 launch, he gained diverse experience across the media and tech fields, setting a solid foundation for his mission to provide comprehensive, unbiased news. His vision and leadership have since established Odnako as a trusted, innovative news platform worldwide.