With four very sure victories Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli concluded the first weekend of the Prada Cup final with great authority.
The Italian boat remains unbeaten, after a day of variable conditions that once again confirmed its ability to navigate in different conditions and interpret different situations.
Now, for Ineos Team UK the road to becoming the Challenger becomes steeper.
Waiting to know when it will return to the water, after the suspension of the races initially scheduled for Wednesday, due to the mini lockdown decided by the New Zealand government for Auckland, the Italian team is enjoying the victories of the day.
"We are super happy - the words of the helmsman, Francesco Bruni - The first regatta of the day was perhaps the first real match race we have seen so far, something that resembles what you do with slow boats. The duel of turns on these boats is something we have never seen before.
We have also seen that Brits are not easy to beat;
even with the bad start they made, they were very close and didn't give up.
We are happy but the concentration must remain high.
We can feel the cheering of the Italians pushing us, but we have to think about our task and do it well.
People think Italy is just football, but sailing has a big following right now.
Great Italy and strength Palermo! ".
Today the regattas took place on race course E, which is referred to as the 'rear paddock', with a breeze blowing from the northeast between 16-20 knots and with the support of a large fleet of spectators.
The first regatta between Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli and INEOS TEAM UK, with a wind around 15 knots, was very close and the two teams showed the ability to make a complete match race, full of turns and tactical choices.
The gaps have always remained very low.
In the second race, however, the British team made a mistake before the start, an unwanted take-off, and found themselves chasing the Italians for the rest of the race without ever actually being able to be incisive.
The performance of the boats seems quite close, at least with the strong wind, and in these conditions the start becomes a decisive moment for the result.
The Italians have always sailed better and controlled the British without too many problems.
The second day of the Prada Cup final for Sir Ben Ainslie's team was another test of reality, now, with the suspension of racing, he has time to reorganize the team and fine-tune the boat.
"In the first race we made a mess at the start - the comment of Sir Ben Ainslie - But afterwards we had a good race. The Italians did a great job keeping us close. Ours are two fairly equal boats, two great teams we sailed. on the wrong side and we are not happy, even if it was a good race. It was a difficult day, we are not happy, because we can sail much better than that, and we need it. We have given two races, we have been quite bad on the starting line.
The credit goes to Luna Rossa who sailed very well and didn't give us the chance to re-enter the race.
At this level you can't afford to make any mistakes and we've made too many.
We need to reorganize and prepare to come out. "
