Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, originally named Prada Challenge, then Luna Rossa Challenge, is an Italian sailboat racing syndicate first created to compete for the 2000 America's Cup. It won the

Louis Vuitton Cup The Louis Vuitton Cup was the name of the Challenger Selection Series sailing competition from 1983, named after its sponsor, Louis Vuitton. The winner of the competition became the challenger to compete with the defender of the America's Cu ...

on their first attempt in 2000, but then lost the America's Cup match against the defending champion team,

Team New Zealand Team New Zealand or TNZ is a sailing team based in Auckland, New Zealand representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. Team New Zealand became a household name in their home country following their consecutive wins in the America's Cup i ...

. Luna Rossa challenged again for the

2003 America's Cup The 31st America's Cup was contested between the holder, Team New Zealand, and the winner of the 2003 Louis Vuitton Cup, Alinghi. Build Up The 2002–2003 Louis Vuitton Cup, held in the Hauraki Gulf in Auckland, New Zealand saw nine teams fro ...

but was knocked out in the semi-finals stage of the

. In the

2007 America's Cup The 2007 America's Cup was the thirty-second challenge for the America's Cup and was won by Alinghi in the 7th race. The Cup is the most famous and most prestigious regatta and '' Match Race'' in the sport of sailing. As per the Deed of Gift o ...

, held in

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

, Spain, the team reached the final of the Louis Vuitton Cup but was again defeated by

. When the competition moved to

AC72 The AC72 (America's Cup 72 class) is a class of wingsail catamarans built to a box rule, which governs the construction and operation of yachts competing in the 2013 Louis Vuitton and the America's Cup races. The class was subsequently replac ...

catamarans for the

2013 America's Cup The 34th America's Cup was a series of yacht races held in San Francisco Bay on September 2013. The series was contested between the defender Oracle Team USA representing the Golden Gate Yacht Club, and the challenger Emirates Team New Zealand ...

, held in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, Luna Rossa was the last team to challenge, entering a partnership with

. The Italian team reached the final of the

, losing to the Kiwi team. While Luna Rossa planned to participate in the

2017 America's Cup The 2017 America's Cup was the 35th staging of the America's Cup yacht race. The challenger, Emirates Team New Zealand, won by a score of 7 to 1 over the defender, Oracle Team USA. It was held on the Great Sound in Bermuda from June 17 to June 2 ...

, setting up a new base in Cagliari and starting development on the new boat, it withdrew from the competition in protest of the decision to switch class of yachts to the

AC50 The AC50 (defined in the America's Cup rules as AC Class yacht, or ACC) was a wingsail catamaran A Formula 16 beachable catamaran Powered catamaran passenger ferry at Salem, Massachusetts, United States A catamaran () (informally, a "ca ...

catamaran. After

won the Cup back in 2017, Luna Rossa issued their challenge for the next edition, becoming the Challenger of Record for the 2021 America's Cup. The team is owned by Prada CEO

Patrizio Bertelli Patrizio Bertelli (born 6 April 1946), is an Italian billionaire businessman, and the former co-chief executive officer (CEO), with his wife Miuccia Prada, of Prada Group. As of March 2022, his net worth was estimated at US$4.5 billion. Life an ...

and it is sponsored by that Italian fashion brand. Additional sponsors were

Telecom Italia Gruppo TIM, legally TIM S.p.A. (formerly Telecom Italia S.p.A.), also known as the TIM Group in English, is an Italian telecommunications company with headquarters in Rome, Milan, and Naples, (with the Telecom Italia Tower) which provides fixed ...

between 2005-2007 and Pirelli from 2018.

History

1997-2000: The first challenge

In February 1997, Prada CEO and avid sailor

met with Argentinian yacht designer

German Frers German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

to discuss the construction of a cruising yacht. Frers asked suddenly "Why don’t we consider the America’s Cup?". Within 15 days, the core group behind Luna Rossa's first America's Cup campaign was established; the team challenged for the 30th America's Cup on behalf of the Yacht Club Punta Ala and under the name Prada Challenge. Starting from October 1999 in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, the team raced in the

2000 Louis Vuitton Cup The 5th Louis Vuitton Cup was held in Auckland, New Zealand, in 2000. The winner, Prada Challenge, went on to challenge for the 2000 America's Cup. It was the first time in the competition's history that there would not be an American challen ...

with its two IACC yachts ITA-45 and ITA-48 (the latter only for the first two Round Robins) skippered by Francesco de Angelis. After ranking first in the Round Robin stage by winning 26 out of 29 races, and first again in the knock out stage after winning 8 out of 10, Luna Rossa disputed the finals against AmericaOne, skippered by

Paul Cayard Paul Pierre Cayard (born May 19, 1959) is an American yachtsman and professional sailor. He has competed at multiple world championship level sailing events, including the America's Cup, the Whitbread Round the World Race, the Volvo Ocean Rac ...

. In a long battle across 9 races, Luna Rossa ultimately prevailed 5-4, winning the

on 6 February 2000, the second time ever for an Italian team after Il Moro di Venezia in 1992. Having earned the right to challenge for the 2000 America's Cup, Luna Rossa lost 5–0 to defending Cup champion

2001-2003: The second challenge

Luna Rossa was the first to issue a challenge to

for the 31st America's Cup and therefore contested the

2003 Louis Vuitton Cup The 6th Louis Vuitton Cup was held in Auckland, New Zealand, in 2003. The winner, Alinghi, went on to challenge for and win the 2003 America's Cup. The teams The Yacht Club Punta Ala was the challenger of record. Alinghi Founded by Swiss busi ...

as the Challenger of Record. The team built two new IACC yachts, ITA-74 and ITA-80, which did not perform as expected. Still skippered by Francesco de Angelis, Luna Rossa was eliminated in the semi-final stage by American team OneWorld.

2004-2007: The third challenge

After Alinghi's victory in the

, the competition moved to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, for the first time ever in Europe. Luna Rossa was the first of the 12 participating teams to set up a base in Valencia, with a restructured team compared to the previous two campaigns. Now competing as Luna Rossa Challenge with

as an additional sponsor, the team challenged on behalf of the

Yacht Club Italiano The Yacht Club Italiano is a yacht club in Genoa, Italy. History It was founded in 1879 and is one of the oldest sailing clubs in the Mediterranean. This club was bestowed Royal Patronage by HRH King Umberto I of Italy since its inception. This c ...

, based in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

, one of the oldest yacht club in the Mediterranean. The sailing team was enriched with new members, most notably Jimmy Spithill as helmsman, while Francesco de Angelis remained skipper. The team built two new IACC yachts for the campaign, ITA-86 and ITA-94, the latter of which raced in the

2007 Louis Vuitton Cup The 2007 Louis Vuitton Cup held in Valencia, Spain, from April 16 to June 6 was the event used to select the challenger for the 2007 America's Cup. Eleven potential challengers competed in the competition which consisted of two round robins, t ...

. After ranking third in the Round Robin stage, winning 16 out of 20 races, the team beat

BMW Oracle Racing Oracle Team USA is an American yacht racing syndicate initially formed to compete for the 2003 America's Cup. They competed again in the 2007 event before winning the 33rd America's Cup regatta in 2010 – representing the Golden Gate Yacht Club ...

5-1 in the semi-finals. Luna Rossa then lost 5-0 in the

finals against

Emirates Team New Zealand Team New Zealand or TNZ is a sailing team based in Auckland, New Zealand representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. Team New Zealand became a household name in their home country following their consecutive wins in the America's Cup i ...

2007-2011: The Cup on a hiatus

With the extensive court challenges leading to the

2010 America's Cup The 33rd America's Cup between Société Nautique de Genève defending with team Alinghi against Golden Gate Yacht Club, and their racing team BMW Oracle Racing was the subject of extensive court action and litigation, surpassing in acrimony even ...

, there was no Louis Vuitton Cup competition planned for several years. During this period, Luna Rossa Challenge joined other teams racing IACC yachts in the 2009

Louis Vuitton Pacific Series The Louis Vuitton Pacific Series was a match race regatta in America's Cup Class yachts in Auckland, New Zealand during January and February 2009. Racing started on 30 January. The Louis Vuitton Pacific Series was organised in association with ...

and in the 2010 Louis Vuitton Trophy, La Maddalena event. Furthermore, the team remained active racing in the

Maxi yacht A maxi yacht usually refers to a racing yacht of at least in length. Origin The term ''maxi'' originated with the International Offshore Rule (IOR) rating system, which in the 1970s and 1980s measured offshore racing yachts and applied a single ...

circuit in 2008 and 2009 with a STP 65' yacht, skippered by

Robert Scheidt Robert Scheidt (born April 15, 1973) is a Brazilian sailor who has won two gold medals, two silver medals and a bronze from five Olympic Games and a Star Sailors League Final. He is one of the most successful sailors at Olympic Games and one of t ...

, and raced in the Audi MedCup in 2010 with a TP52 yacht. In 2011, Luna Rossa joined the

Extreme Sailing Series The Extreme Sailing Series (ESS) (formerly the iShares Cup) was an annual global racing series, organised by OC Sport, which ran from 2007 to 2018. The series started in 2007 with its main attraction being the stadium racing which puts the race c ...

, racing for the first time in catamarans. During this series, Luna Rossa was skippered for the first time by Max Sirena, who had been mid-bowman in Luna Rossa's previous three America's Cup campaigns and had a key role as wing mast manager for

's trimaran

USA-17 ''USA-17'' (formerly known as ''BMW Oracle Racing 90'' or ''BOR90'') is a sloop rigged racing trimaran built by the American sailing team BMW Oracle Racing to challenge for the 2010 America's Cup. Designed by VPLP Yacht Design with consulta ...

that won the

. Luna Rossa won the 2011 Extreme Sailing Series at its first and only participation in the circuit.

2011–2013: The fourth challenge

In October 2011, Luna Rossa challenged for the

34th America's Cup The 34th America's Cup was a series of yacht races held in San Francisco Bay on September 2013. The series was contested between the defender Oracle Team USA representing the Golden Gate Yacht Club, and the challenger Emirates Team New Zealan ...

on behalf of the Circolo della Vela Sicilia, based in Palermo. Luna Rossa Challenge were last to enter the event, which was to be contested with a new class of yachts, the

catamarans. The team bought two

AC45 The America's Cup World Series are match races and fleet regattas used as heats for the 2013 America's Cup and the 2017 America's Cup. The Yachts AC45 and AC45F The World Series uses AC45 catamarans, a one-design wingsail catamaran designed spec ...

catamarans to get the team up to speed with multihulls and compete in the newly developed America's Cup World Series. The two boats, called ''Piranha'' and ''Swordfish'', raced for the first time at the event in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

between 11–15 April 2012 and were helmed by British sailors Chris Draper and Paul Campbell-James but with a primarily Italian crew, including skipper Max Sirena and Francesco Bruni as wing trimmer. 'Luna Rossa Piranha' went on to win the overall 2012/2013 season of the America's Cup World Series, following the disqualification of

Oracle Team USA Oracle Team USA is an American yacht racing syndicate initially formed to compete for the 2003 America's Cup. They competed again in the 2007 event before winning the 33rd America's Cup regatta in 2010 – representing the Golden Gate Yacht Club ...

. In order to overcome the late start in the

campaign, a deal was signed with

to share information on the design of their

catamarans. Luna Rossa constructed only one

, which was launched in Auckland in October 2012. Luna Rossa's catamaran was characterised by a unique chrome livery. Luna Rossa ranked second in the Round Robin stage of the

2013 Louis Vuitton Cup The 8th Louis Vuitton Cup was held during July and August 2013, in San Francisco, California, United States of America. The three contenders were Artemis Racing (Sweden), Emirates Team New Zealand (New Zealand), and Luna Rossa Challenge (Italy). A ...

, with 4 losses against

and 4 forfeit wins against Artemis Racing, who did not participate in the first stage of the competition after a disastrous capsize. Then, Luna Rossa contested the semi-finals against the Swedish team, easily winning 4-0. Luna Rossa and

ended up facing each other in the challengers’ final, which the kiwi team won 7–1.

2013-2017: A challenge withdrawn

In June 2014, Luna Rossa confirmed they would compete for the

2017 Louis Vuitton Cup The 2017 Louis Vuitton Challenger's Trophy (officially, the Trophy was given to the winner of the 2017 Louis Vuitton America's Cup Challenger Playoffs) was a sailing competition held to determine the challenger in the 2017 America's Cup. The tourn ...

, which was to be contested in AC62 catamarans. The team set up a new base in Cagliari and started development on the new boat. In April 2015, before the preliminary 2015–16 America's Cup World Series started competition, it was decided that the

would switch to a smaller class of yacht, the

catamaran, without the unanimous consent of all competitors. Luna Rossa Challenge, which was already in an advanced design stage for a yacht according to the original rule, withdrew in protest. Following Luna Rossa's withdrawal, the team lent resources and key personnel to

in their effort to win the Cup against current defender

. Most notably, Luna Rossa skipper and team director Max Sirena joined the kiwi team in a management role. As soon as

won the 35th America's Cup on 26 June 2017, Luna Rossa challenged the kiwi team on behalf of the Circolo della Vela Sicilia and became the Challenger of Record for the 36th America's Cup.

2017-2021: Return to New Zealand

Now branded as Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli following the addition of sponsor Pirelli, the team organised and participated in the

2021 Prada Cup The 2021 Prada Challenger's Trophy was a sailing competition held to determine the challenger in the 2021 America's Cup who would challenge Emirates Team New Zealand. The races were held from January 15 to February 21, 2021 in Auckland, New Zeal ...

, due to its position as Challenger of Record. The competition returned to monohulls with the establishment of a new class of foiling yachts, the AC75. Luna Rossa's operations initially took place in their base in Cagliari,

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

, where the team's first AC75 yacht was launched in October 2019, and moved to Auckland in September 2020, where they launched a second AC75 in October 2020. The Italian sailboat raced in the

with a unique dual helmsmen configuration, with Jimmy Spithill on starboard and Francesco Bruni on

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

, while skipper Max Sirena stayed off the boat. Luna Rossa ranked second in the Round Robin phase and then beat American Magic 4-0 in the semi-finals. In the

final the team won 7-1 against Ineos Team UK, earning the right to challenge for the 2021 America's Cup. Facing defender

, Luna Rossa managed to win one point on each of the first three days of the competition, after which the two teams were tied 3-3. Nevertheless, the defender eventually prevailed and won the 2021 America's Cup with the score 7-3.

Results

The boats

A total of 9 boats have been built for America's Cup campaigns, all named ''Luna Rossa''. Of these, two won the Challenger selection series and went on to officially challenge for the America's Cup (in 2000 and in 2021), both times losing to the defender

. Two more reached the challenger selection series final (in 2007 and 2013), losing to again to

on both occasions. Since the

, all Luna Rossa boats have been built by Persico Marine in

Nembro Nembro ( Bergamasque: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Bergamo in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about northeast of Bergamo, on the right bank of the Serio River. Nembro borders the foll ...

, Italy.

Notable sailors

* Francesco de Angelis - Skipper (2000, 2003 and 2007) * Max Sirena - Mid-bowman (2000, 2003 and 2007), Skipper (2013 and 2021) * Francesco Bruni - Afterguard (2003 and 2007), Tactician (2013), Helmsman (2021) *

James Spithill James Spithill (born 28 June 1979) is an Australian yachtsman. In 2010, as skipper and helmsman for BMW Oracle Racing, Spithill won the America's Cup. He defended the cup twice, both times against Emirates Team New Zealand, first successfully ...

- Helmsman (2007 and 2021) * Chris Draper - Helmsman (2013) * Torben Grael - Tactician (2000, 2003 and 2007) * Gilberto Nobili - Grinder (2003, 2007), Operations Manager (2021) *

Matteo Plazzi Matteo Plazzi (born in Ravenna) is an Italian sailor who has competed in multiple America's Cups. Plazzi's first foray into the America's Cup was with ''Azzurra'' in the 1987 Louis Vuitton Cup. In addition to competing in the America's Cup, Matte ...

- Navigator (2000, 2003, 2007) * Pietro Sibello - Wing trimmer (2021) * Philippe Presti - Coach (2007 and 2021)

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1999 establishments in Italy Prada Luna Rossa Challenge