America's Cup Recon: Luna Rossa exits the shed, stress tests and steps rig
by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World.com/nz 9 Jun 15:19 PDT
AC75 - Day B - America's Cup Recon - Luna Rossa - June 6, 2026 © ACP Recon Unit
Italian America's Cup Challenger, Luna Rossa, is the second team to progress down the Road to Naples, stepping the mast in their AC75 at their base in Cagliari.
The team also appeared to be stress-testing the AC75, as rig loads were applied.
Like Emirates Team NZ before them, the Italians are expected to launch and test-sail with legacy gear in use for at least the first few sailing days.
Under the current Protocol, as the third-placed competitor in the Barcelona America's Cup, Luna Rossa is entitled to a 2026 sailing quota of 49 days.
Recon Unit (RU) Report
The team rolled out the mast at 1015hrs. Minor modifications were noted on the main lock hooks and the base mast track.
As the hull rolled out, no bowsprit was fitted, the foils were covered for protection while camera fittings were still mounted, as documented in the recon selects. New inserts were observed on both port and starboard sides, later confirmed to be inlets for LiDAR poles. Alignment work for optimal LiDAR positioning followed on both sides.
The main track and rudder bearing housings were covered, obstructing a clear view to the RU.
Throughout the day, Luna Rossa (LR)R focused on a series of structural tests using the usual hydraulic rams with lines in place of the forestay, the mainsheet with the car at extreme positions and various mast rotations, and the jib sheet with the jib car in several positions.
For some load cases, a line was tensioned just above the mainsheet ram and led to the tack fitting to adjust the mainsheet angle.
Each test was conducted for a set period while the team listened silently for structural noise, with structural engineers monitoring on screens.
Only once was a sudden noise was heard while tensioning the forestay ram, mast did not seem inverted by then.
It did not appear to be a major issue, as the team called it a day after successfully completing the final load case at 1845hrs.
Sailing is scheduled for Wednesday, 10 June.
Additional Images: