At the end of a day that started very badly for Luna Rossa and was full of twists and turns, the Italian “silver bullet” won a very tight race 4 taking the lead at 2-2 with Ineos Britannia in the Louis Vuitton Cup final, which is played as the best of 13 matches. The strong wind in the waters of Barcelona was the protagonist, causing numerous postponements. Luna Rossa – which was in the lead right from the start – prevailed by just 4”, managing to control the return of Ineos, always aggressive and combative. Also leading by 400 meters and 20” at the sixth mark, helmsmen Francesco Bruni and James Spithill were able to perfectly interpret the movements of the gusts on the race course, keeping the Prada Pirelli team boat ahead in the exciting final sprint which was worth the draw.
A very important success for Luna Rossawhich found itself 2-1 down after the third race, which was practically never held. Bad luck, which yesterday had deprived the British of victory by making them lose the wind in their sails while they were in the lead, has given them back the badly taken with interest. Shortly before the start, Luna Rossa in fact suffered a problem with the mainsail and was disqualified because the wind blew regularly only when it could not start, given that it still had the technicians working on the repairs on board. Thus we arrived at the fourth regatta, a melee right from the approach maneuvers to the starting line, with Luna Rossa downwind closely following its opponents, until it almost tacked on them. In fact, Ineos protested to the jury, which however judged the maneuver to be regular. The regatta was thus able to start and it was an exciting ride (average speed above 40 knots), with Luna Rossa soon leading by about fifty metres. Ahead of 6” at the first mark, then 11”, 19” and up to 20” at the turn of the sixth, on board Luna Rossa we were never able to relax, always busy crossing the route of Ineos to try to keep her at a disadvantage. However, around the seventh and penultimate mark the crew led by Ben Ainslie and Dylan Fletcher managed to get back under, just 6” behind, also thanks to an additional tack by Luna. The last stern side is in suspense. Luna Rossa continued to fly over the waves (up to 55.2 knots, or 102.2 kilometers per hour), seeing the finish line and the draw within reach, until crossing the imaginary line with a lead reduced to 4”. Few, enough to achieve success. However, there is no time to celebrate: we return to the water tomorrow for match races 5 and 6. It was supposed to be a rest day, but it will be used to make up for the races not held on Saturday due to the little wind.