THREE KEY FACTS
- Team New Zealand won the preliminary America’s Cup regatta in Barcelona, beating Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli in the final
- Three teams were forced to withdraw from races across the four-day event
- The Louis Vuitton Cup challenger series begins in just four days’ time
ChristopherReive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the sameversatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.
OPINION
Emerging from the pack
The form guide was spot on.
Heading into the finalpreliminary regatta of the campaign, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelliand American Magic had been billed alongside Team NewZealand as having edged ahead of the rest of the fleet at thisearly stage of racing. Funnily enough, they were the three teams to feature inthe finals of the previous two preliminary regattas – American Magic awardedthe win in Vilanova i la Geltru in Spain as the top qualifier because a lack ofwind meant the final against Team NZ could not be contested, and Team NZbeating a youthful Italian outfit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Those tworegattas were contested on the one-design AC40, a scaled-down, four-personvessel with only helmsmen and trimmers onboard. A move to the full-scale AC75sfor the first time this campaign saw no change and they should feel well placedheading into the challenger series.
Workto do
Ineos Britanniaare an interesting case study and it will be fascinating to see what theirperformance is like when races that matter being. In several races during thepreliminary regatta, Sir Ben Ainslie’s crew made unforced errors that put themon the back foot immediately, particularly in the starting box. When they gotgoing, they looked formidable at times and a big turn in results come thechallenger series would not surprise. They did a similar thing in Auckland in2021, though that time they had two weeks to address their shortcomings, notfour days.
Alinghi RedBull Racing also had some good moments in the regatta, particularly their raceagainst Luna Rossa on the final day, before a poor jibe saw their race unravel.They showed good signs of their match racing skills – the big question aroundthem is whether or not they have a fast enough boat to compete or to be able toovercome the odd poor turn.
Orient Express Racing Teamseemed almost the opposite. Having purchased a design package from Team NZ, theexpectation is that their AC75 will have the pace. But they were the last teamto get their AC75 on the water this campaign and that lost time might hurt. InBarcelona over the weekend, they struggled with errors and technical issues ina performance that left a lot to be desired.
Equalisers
Three teams hadissues with their vessels through the regatta; Luna Rossa and Orient Expressforced out of races with technical problems and American Magic having a rudderissue during a turn. A lot is going on under the hood of these vessels in termsof the electronics involved, and the reliability of all the crucial componentsis going to be key to a good, incident-free regatta. Technical issues couldthreaten to not only frustrate the athletes, but fans who want to see theworld’s best sailors in action as well.
Outside of the boatsthemselves, the sea state was always going to provide an additional layer ofintrigue around how well the teams manage the conditions in Barcelona. For mostof the preliminary regatta, the sea was relatively calm and the wind was light.However, there was a clear bump on the water on the final day, with every coachmentioning how much more of a challenge that made things, particularly with thewind staying toward the bottom end of the range.
With these boatsdesigned to fly above the water, the threat of waves lapping against the hullhas been factored into the design, but that also adds another factor when itcomes to strategy around sailing configurations. In some ways, the conditionscould be a further equaliser across a contest that already appears like it willbe tight. We are also yet to see how the teams go in conditions toward theupper end of the wind range in proper racing, so watch this space.