Two victories puts Luna Rossa into equal lead

by Luna Rossa Media on 3 May 2007
Third flight of the eliminatory Round Robin 2 of the Louis Vuitton Cup. On the southern course cloudy skies, ten knots of breeze from the south east.

The race finally gets underway at 3.40 p.m. after an initial postponement due to the shiftiness of the wind. After an initial dial-up both boats sail over the start line and Spithill luffs Jesper Bank from leeward. United Internet Team Germany fails to keep clear and incurs in a penalty.

Luna Rossa storms the line on starboard tack on the Committee boat end, the Germans start on the pin end on port. ITA 94 pulls ahead immediately and keeps her opponent in check. Francesco de Angelis and his team has the race sewn all the way until its conclusion. The deltas: 31 seconds at mark, 1' 28' seconds at the leeward gate, 51 seconds at the end of the second beat and 1 minute and 2 seconds on the finishing line.

The second match of the day begins at 6 p.m. The wind as dropped since the first race. ITA 94 tries to avoid the dial up but Paolo Cian at the helm of RSA 83 forces her into it. With a pivot Spithill shakes off the South African’s clasp and pushes Shosholoza outside of the starting line. RSA 83 enters the box once again and is fast on the pin end. Luna Rossa is slower on the Committee boat end but better positioned on the course given the wind direction and sails towards the right hand side of the course. Ten minutes later ITA 94 passes Shosholoza to windward. At the first mark Luna Rossa has a 24 second lead. The rest of the race sees the two boats separated by never more than 30 seconds with the afterguard on Luna Rossa always covering their opponent. The deltas: 20 seconds at the leeward gate, 25 seconds at mark 3 and 25 seconds at the finishing line for the boat of the Yacht Club Italiano.

Crew
1. Skipper - Francesco de Angelis
2. Helmsman - James Spithill
3. Tactician - Torben Grael
4. Navigator - Michele Ivaldi
5. Afterguard - Ben Durham
6. Traveller - Andrew Horton
7. Runner - Michele Cannoni (flight 3) - Magnus Augustson (flight 4)
8. Main Trimmer - Jonathan McKee
9. Main Grinder - Gilberto Nobili
10. Trimmer - Joe Newton
11. Trimmer - Christian Kamp
12. Grinder - Romolo Ranieri (flight 3) - Emanuele Marino (flight 4)
13. Grinder - Emanuele Marino (flight 3) - Andrew Taylor (flight 4)
14. Pitman - Simone de Mari
15. Mast - Massimo Gherarducci
16. Mid-Bow - Paolo Bassani (flight 3) - Max Sirena (flight 4)
17. Bow - Andy Fethers (flight 3) - Alan Smith (flight 4)

Other results

'Louis Vuitton Cup' - Round Robin 2 - Flight 3
Desafío Espanol 2007 (ESP 97) wins against AREVA Challenge (FRA 93)
Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL 92) wins against +39 Challenge (ITA 85)
Victory Challenge (SWE 96) wins against China Team (CHN 95) DNS
BMW Oracle Racing (USA 98) wins against Team Shosholoza (RSA 83)
Bye Mascalzone Latino Capitalia Team (ITA 99)

'Louis Vuitton Cup' - Round Robin 2 - Flight 4
Mascalzone Latino Capitalia Team (ITA 99) wins against Desafío Espanol 2007 (ESP 97)
Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL 92) wins against AREVA Challenge (FRA 93)
United Internet Team Germany (GER 89) wins against China Team (CHN 95)
BMW Oracle Racing (USA 98) wins against Victory Challenge (SWE 96)
Bye +39 Challenge (ITA 85)

Louis Vuitton Cup - provisional scoreboard (source: www.americascup.com)
Pos. - Team - Races won/Races run - LV Cup points
1 - BMW Oracle Racing (USA 98) - 12/14 - 27
1 - Luna Rossa Challenge (ITA 94) - 12/14 - 27
3 - Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL 92) - 10/13 - 24
4 - Desafío Español 2007 (ESP 97) - 9/13 - 21
5 - Victory Challenge (SWE 96) - 8/14 - 18
6 - Mascalzone Latino Capitalia Team (ITA 99) - 7/13 - 16
7 - Team Shosholoza (RSA 83) - 6/14 - 14
8 - AREVA Challenge (FRA 93) - 6/14 - 13
9 - +39 Challenge (ITA 85) - 2/13 - 6
10 - United Internet Team Germany (GER 89) - 2/14 - 5
11 - China Team (CHN 95) - 1/14 - 3

Tomorrow’s program - Thursday, May 3rd
'Louis Vuitton Cup' - Round Robin 2 - Turno 5
United Internet Team Germany (GER 89) - Victory Challenge (SWE 96)
BMW Oracle Racing (USA 98) - Luna Rossa Challenge (ITA 94)
Mascalzone Latino Capitalia Team (ITA 99) - +39 Challenge (ITA 85)
Team Shosholoza (RSA 83) - China Team (CHN 95)
Desafío Espanol 2007 (ESP 97) - Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL 92)
Bye AREVA Challenge (FRA 93)


LUNA ROSSA CHALLENGE 2007 www.lunarossachallenge.com