Italian flair
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team launches its second AC75 in Auckland, showing off new developments.
22 October 2020
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The second AC 75 Luna Rossa boat has been launched in Auckland. The new boat showed off refined version of their first AC75 with subtle upgrades.
Tweaks include a rearranged deck layout to improve aerodynamics, with more deck flare at the bow.
I an ceremony, the boat was blessed by Father “Pa” Peter Tipene, Cathedral Dean of Auckland Cathedral, and followed by the christening of the boat by Tatiana Sirena, wife of Team Director and Skipper Max Sirena, as she broke on the bow a bottle of Ferrari Maximum Blanc de Blancs from Cantine Ferrari.
The local Maori welcome ritual accompanied Luna Rossa in the final phase of the launch as she was lowered into the sea.
Max Sirena, Skipper and Team Director of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli added: ”Today is an important day in our challenge for the 36th America’s Cup presented by PRADA. The launch of the second Luna Rossa is the culmination of over three years of work of the team and all our partners.
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“It is the start of the most important phase of the campaign; the team has worked hard to pre pare for this moment and it is great to see the motivation on people’s faces in these weeks of work here in Auckland.
“Everyone knows how important this moment is: now we are getting to the heart of the matter. I want to take this opportunity to thank the whole team for the work done; from now on we will no longer have control of our time, the countdown to the first race has begun.
The program is to start sailing a few days after the launch to prepare for the first regattas, the PRADA ACWS Auckland and the PRADA Christmas Race.”
Among these, thanks to this company’s ability to create innovative materials for tire technology, is a component, used for all parts that touch the water, that adds performance at the highest speed range.
The hull, built at the Persico Marine shipyard in Nembro (Bergamo), reached Auckland on an Antonov cargo plane, the largest transport aircraft in the world. In the few days that separated the arrival of the boat from the launch, the foils, the on-board systems and instrumentation were installed and set up in record time to be ready to sail right after the first load tests.
Boat 2 is the natural evolution of the previous project, developed on the basis of the data collected during an intense training period in the Gulf of Cagliari. As on Boat I, the new hull will also feature technology details designed in partnership with Pirelli.
For the first time, the AC75 class boats competing in the 36th America’s Cup presented by PRADA will race against each other in the waters of Auckland in the PRADA America’s Cup World Series and the PRADA Christmas Race, scheduled to take place from December 17 to 20.
From January 15 2021 the competition will heat up with the PRADA Cup event ( 15 January – 22 February 2021 ), the Challengers Selection Series that will determine the team challenging the Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand, in the Final Match of the 36th America’s Cup presented by PRADA (6-21 March 2021).
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