High tension and many emotions in the Hauraki Gulf, from which Team Prada Pirelli comes out today with two defeats very heavy. In race-7, with a medium-light wind around 9/10 knots, Luna Rossa manages to win the start, but in the second windward leg comes the first real overtaking of this long America’s Cup final. And it hurts us. Te Rehutai takes advantage of a Prada team choice mistake that throws itself on the left side (which will be weaker) of the race field going to the opposite side in separation.
At the intersection, the Kiwis are ahead and stretch up to close with an advantage of 58 seconds.
The 4 to 3 for the defender hurts, but the drama of the day has not yet worn off. In race-8, in fact, the two boats start almost even, then Luna Rossa takes a small advantage and turns to the first mark with 16 seconds of dowry. In the middle of the second leg Team New Zealand ventures a maneuver that fails, ends up in the exhausts and falls from the foils. While Te Rehutai flounders like a dinghy, Luna Rossa is booming. The gap becomes abysmal, over four minutes, but the greatest possible nightmare is about to materialize.
At the end of the second beat a wind shift causes Luna Rossa to fall from the foils. The Italian boat remains anchored in the buoy area, floats or a little more. in the meantime The Rehutai has finally managed to take off and begins to recover meters and hopes. Spithill and Bruni, in an attempt to find the wind necessary to raise Luna Rossa, even leave the competition area twice, first getting 50 and then 100 meters of penalty. But now it changes little, because the Kiwis pass by and run away. When Luna Rossa returns to orbit it is 2,000 meters behind and must surrender.
“Don’t say cat if you don’t have it in the bag,” he says trying to play down Jimmy Spithill in the post-race, «We were unable to complete the turn because we fell off the foils. Then we tried to get out to regain the pressure. Tomorrow we will be stronger than ever ».
Tonight, two more races. Team New Zealand’s second double would be fatal for Luna Rossa. We are at the moment of truth.
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