Luna Rossa's challenge

«I christen Luna rossa,» Miuccia Prada exclaimed, wearing a blue sweater and pants before breaking the ordinance magnum and unveiling the first prototype, the first new Luna Rossa of the 37th America's Cup. Cagliari's dock was bathed in sunshine and the boat was shrouded in white cloth. «The scaffolding does not work… we are off to a good start. They have been testing it all night, it must be getting tired...,» Patrizio Bertelli joked on the pit with his fashion designer wife and Marco Tronchetti Provera of Pirelli before the launch. And in the minutes before the ceremony, a heartfelt remembrance from skipper Max Sirena and everyone on the pier went to Francesco Longanesi Cattani, who passed away in the spring, a true gentleman of the nautical world (and beyond) and a fan of Luna rossa from day one.

The boat, a first model that will not compete in 2024 (the real boat, twice the size, will arrive in about ten months) is small, with a super original camouflage livery, rounded, and born determined. «The camouflage livery required work that was not easy. It is reminiscent of the way war boats were dressed in the early twentieth century. The context here is fortunately peaceful,» Patrizio Bertelli explained before the boat was put to sea. It was born determined to do its job well, that is, the platform for experimentation, testing, trials, toward what will be the real Luna Rossa AC75 for the America's cup in Barcelona 2024. It is also the only one, since by protocol teams can only build one AC75. «The Italian capacity even at the technological level is very high. The boat and crew have the potential to win and excite us. Today we celebrate the beginning of another wonderful adventure,» Marco Tronchetti Provera stated.

The silence of these months has been industrious, the base has produced ideas in quantity, tables with schedules and timing have done the rest, and here we are at the first real date. «The total budget for the America's Cup is around 90 million euros. The situation we are experiencing now does not help. Most of the special steels come from Ukraine, but it is hard to make predictions,» Max Sirena explained in response to a question from MFF. And fashion fans dreaming of Prada collections with the unexpected and already iconic camouflage can put their minds at ease. «The Linea Rossa collection will be the bare minimum. We made the maximum effort for the label in Valencia, but it is something in which we are not interested. It is a request from the merchandising organization. We will do the bare minimum».

The Woolmark Company is confirmed to be the team's official technical partner. The team and all crew will continue to wear Merino wool technical garments during all training and sailing activities. The most breaking news is that the Prada Cup will not return. «We had an option for a new Prada Cup, but we will not do it again. We did not like the conditions in New Zealand. Why should we do the Prada Cup with people who act like antagonists?» The Luna rossa prototype was conceived, designed and built at Luna rossa Prada Pirelli’s base in compliance with the rules imposed by the 37th America's cup protocol. It is a highly innovative and complex project in terms of engineering and technology, adopting experimental solutions in every area and state-of-the-art materials.

«The sailing competition, until Luna Rossa entered, with all due respect to the Moro di Venezia, remained a competition between Anglo-Saxons. The difference between Latin and Anglo-Saxon culture can be seen in many ways,» Patrizio Bertelli pointed out to the press. Built of carbon composite, its construction took nearly ten months and more than 30,000 hours of work by more than 25 people and 40 design team members. 5,000 square meters of carbon fiber applied to different materials that make up the structural core were used to build the boat and composite components. Now eyes are on Barcelona. «There is no second position here,» Max Sirena stressed. «In the last edition we came much closer to winning than it was caught from a distance... Losing actually confirmed that we were not very lucky. You work for three years but you gamble it all away in the span of a few weeks». (All rights reserved)