Prada Cup: Two "European" teams to contest the Final - Media Conference

Italy and Great Britain will contest an all European final for the Prada Cup © America's Cup Media

The media conference for the Final of the Prada Cup has just concluded in Auckland.

For the first time in America's Cup history, or rather since multiple challenges were first entertained in 1970, two "European" teams will be contesting the Final and the right to Challenge Emirates Team New Zealand in the America's Cup Match, beginning in three weeks on March 6, 2021.

Technically the United Kingdom is no longer part of the European Union, a point that Luna Rossa skipper Max Sirena was quick to point out to INEOS Team UK skipper Ben Ainslie on his right.

The final series a best of 13 contest, meaning that the first competitor to win seven races is declared the Challenger for the 36th America's Cup and will take on the defending champions, Emirates Team New Zealand in the Match starting on March 6.

Yesterday it was announced that the wind limits for both the Prada Cup Final and the America's Cup Match have been altered from the planned 23kts to remain at 21kts using the rolling boxcar averaged over 30 seconds.

Lowering of the wind limits, particularly the upper wind limit has been controversial. Ahead of the 2013 Americas Cup in San Francisco, the stated wind limit was 33kts, but after the tragic breakup of Artemis Racing, the matter came under consideration in a safety review, and the limit was lowered to 23kts.

The alteration of a wind limit so close to a regatta is a contentious issue as the boats have been designed to operate in a particular wind strength, and lowering that limit can give advantage to one team - as happened in San Francisco, with the wind alteration working in favour of the defending champion Oracle Team USA.

But in Auckland it is for a more practical reason in that there has been a significant difference between the wind that is recorded on the Committee Boat (where the average is measured) and the recording on the competitors boats.

Faced with increasing the upper wind limit by 2kts as planned to 23kts, did not sit well with Murray. "I think caution took its place, an it was decided to stay with what we know, and what is manageable within these boats, and to ensure that we are racing the boats, and not just surviving."

In this regatta there have been no starts blown up because of an upper wind limit being exceeded. The Rolling Boxcar Average calls for the wind readings to be averaged over a 30 second period, and if that average is exceeded in any rolling 30second period, then the wind alarm is tripped and the start abandoned. The measurement period lasts from the ninth minute before the start to the fourth minute before - a five minute measurement period. Once out of that period the race is declared to be live and cannot be stopped except for safety reasons.

Time out returns

The ability to call a 15 minute time-out by a boat three minutes or more before the start of a race, has been re-introduced. The system applied in Round Robins 3 & 4, but was not used in the Semi-Finals. "We have brought back the ability for the boats to have one "card" to use if there is a problem with a boat before the race." Murray said. "There are some limitations around it", he added. "It can only be used on that particular day. If it is called on that day and the race is subsequently abandoned, then it can't be used again. It also can't be used to roll over into the next days", Murray added. "The purpose of it is to keep the boats racing as we all want to see them and to keep the racing as good as we can."

On the subject of a storm sitting off the the NE of New Zealand, Murray said that he didn't not think it would affect racing this weekend, but could do on the next race day, Wednesday (winds are predicted to be over the limit in the morning, but reduce in the late afternoon, when racing is due to get underway).

Luna Rossa team boss, Max Sirena a twice America's Cup winner revealed that the team had made changes, since they last raced INEOS Team UK. "We have a new foil, modified mast, a new set of sails, and a lot of development on the software systems on the boat. Plus we have a lot of improvement on the on-board comms. We made some mistakes when we last raced them, and we want to come out with one less mistake than them," he added.

Sirena said that at the beginning of the campaign they were off the pace in the big breeze - "mainly because we didn't find many windy days when we launched Boat 2. But when the Round Robin finished, we began to sail in the big breeze. When we raced on the Friday in the Semi-Final, that was the windiest day in which we have sailed, and we use that race to develop our performance in the boat and we are now ready to sail in any condition."

Responding to a question about the trade-off between gaining extra race time by sailing in the Semi-Finals against having an extended period in the boat-hangar to demon-tweak the AC75's performance, Sirena made the point that while the teams have sailed quite a lot, they have only raced a few times in the AC75's - "probably less than 10 times. So every racing day is gold, because in racing conditions you push really hard, and there is the stress of winning the race, which you cannot do in training."

INEOS Team UK's skipper Ben Ainslie, said the team had wanted to make an early qualification for the Final to enable them to have more work and speed development time on the AC75. "The guys have worked really hard to improve the performance and time will tell whether we have made a step forward."

Two strikes rule stays

Despite the decision by the Challenger and Defender to not increase the wind limit as planned there was no agreement on removing or altering the contentious "two-strikes and you're DSQ'd" rule for incurring two infringements resulting from the lodgment of Claim of Non-Compliance over AC75 class rule measurement transgressions.

INEOS Team UK is the only team to have had one CNC upheld - for openings in the foot of their mainsail which were not closed when racing (as required by the AC75 class rule). Their boat had previously passed measurement scrutiny, after which the CNC was lodged by Luna Rossa, and upheld by the International Jury.

The rule is an insidious one, and peculiar only to this America's Cup. It is a modification of standard racing rules, and makes a competitor very vulnerable to changing interpretations of the AC75 class rule. However it has been in all three versions of the Racing Rules that have been introduced. It was initially signed off by the Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand without realising the ramifications, and the way it could be applied. It is extremely unusual for a boat to be disqualified from a race for a non-performance enhancing feature, on a boat as complex as the AC75. On a one-design boat the situation is much more clear cut.

The other issue with the rule is that a CNC can be lodged only after a boat has raced with the questionable feature. Clearly it is an easy matter for the recon teams to get close up study images of a rival boat, develop a class rule argument about a design feature that they believe is contentious and not picked up by the measurers, wait until the boat races, and then lodge a CNC with the Int Jury.

There is no downside to the practice for the protesting team, however it does put a lot of pressure on their opponent - who like INEOS Team UK can get one CNC upheld, and then get disqualified from their previous race if a second CNC is upheld.

"There has been a lot of discussion about that rule," Ainslie said. "I don't really want to get into a tit for tat about measurement at this stage. We're going racing and are looking forward to that."

It remains to be seen if Luna Rossa, who have Ken McAlpine as a rules advisor make lodge any further CNC's after Saturday's race. McAlpine is widely regarded as the most experienced measurer in America's Cup history, and his input would invaluable to ensure Luna Rossa's compliance, but also to offer opinions on any innovations which may not comply on a competitor's boat. To date 90 Class Rule Interpretations have been lodged with the Measurement Committee, with seven being lodged in the past week. It is believed that most of these, particularly the more recent ones, come from Luna Rossa.

Racing gets underway on Saturday at 1600hrs local time in Auckland. The first boat to win seven races progresses through to become the Challenger for the America's Cup, and meet Emirates Team New Zealand also in a best of 13 race series, beginning on March 6.

Sirena would not be drawn on the developments that the Luna Rossa recon team had spotted on the Defender Emirates Team New Zealand. The Luna Rossa recon boat with its crew toting long lens cameras (quite legal under the current Protocol) have accompanied Team New Zealand since they started sailing in their first AC75 in September 2019. "We're not focussed on Team New Zealand, we need to first beat these guys," he claimed, nodding in the direction of Ben Ainslie. "They (ETNZ) are going to be the next step, eventually."

INEOS Team UK's Ben Ainslie was more forthcoming. "We've seen the latest set of foils, and some other upgrades to the boat, which is clearly going very well. But we have to get through the Prada Cup. Whoever comes through that battle, will know that the Kiwi's are going to be incredibly fast. It will be fascinating to see the trade-off between the team that has had perhaps more time to develop, and a team that has had more time on the racecourse, and how all that plays out in the America's Cup Final."