The Launch of Luna Rossa: Italy's Hope for the America's Cup 2024

Silver hull and yellow wings. This will be the new Luna Rossa, the boat that will try to bring the America's Cup to Italy and Sardinia in 2024. With the blessing of Bishop Giuseppe Baturi, the new adventure of the AC75 hull began today at 13:23, which will try to avenge the defeat of 2021. As usual, the godmother of the inauguration was Miucca Prada, accompanied by patron Patrizio Bertelli. Then the fateful phrase "I christen you Luna Rossa". With the bottle of sparkling wine shattered on the silver hull of the new boat in silver, grey, and red colors with two yellow wings that will make it "fly" on the water. A very streamlined hull to better face the waves. Sinner-Tsitsipas 2-3, the semifinal of the ATP of Monte Carlo. The Greek makes a break, Jannik gives a double fault. The Launch "Today is an exciting day. I don't want to exaggerate, like the birth of a child," said Max Sirena, team manager and skipper - Now, as we were saying with Bertelli, it's time to change pace. A beautiful and important day for the team: an important dream for all of us. Thanks also to Cagliari. This boat is exceptional, not only aesthetically: every detail has been taken care of to the maximum." On stage for the inauguration were also Horacio Carabelli, mechanical engineer and naval architect, and Checco Bruni at the helm: "We will go into the water as soon as possible - he said - but we must respect times and structural tests." The boat unveiled today, among the sound of hundreds of horns on land and at sea, is not the final one: there will still be work to do. Today it touched the water with the wings (the wings) used in the last America's Cup. But it will be the tests of these weeks that will tell what will happen and what will be modified. The comment of Giovanni Soldini "I'm sure it will be a "bomb" boat. And so, in silver, it is very beautiful." Giovanni Soldini told Adnkronos, commenting on the Italian AC75 Luna Rossa launched today in Cagliari, in view of the America's Cup in Barcelona between August and October. The wings on which it will fly are always the same as the last edition but if they change them "they will know, I have no idea. I'm glad they have reached the launch, they are an insane team and super capable, so I am full of confidence." In Barcelona, the wind can be "tricky": "Yes, it can be variable but it will also be of gradient, so you have to be careful, because there can be a bit of everything." Past editions It is the tenth "definitive" version of Luna Rossa. In 2019 even the then Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte had been involved for the launch. That day, among others, Olympians Sofia Goggia and Gregorio Paltrinieri were also present. It was a torpedo of 22.6 meters, black with a red mustache, capable of "flying" at 45 knots above the water resting only on the rudder and on a fin. The godmother was Miuccia Prada: to break the champagne bottle on the boat she had gotten a cut on her hand. In 2022, again in Cagliari, there was the baptism of the prototype, a smaller scale boat compared to the Ac75 that will challenge New Zealand and company. Again Miuccia Prada, without incidents, had broken the traditional bottle on the bow of the boat with the fateful phrase "I christen you". Beside her were Patrizio Bertelli (president of the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team), Marco Tronchetti Provera (executive vice president and CEO of Pirelli), Max Sirena (team director and skipper) and Agostino Randazzo (president of the Circolo della Vela Sicilia). Sirena immediately renamed it gym-boat. Now we are at the definitive version, the one that in Barcelona will have to try to win to bring the America's Cup to Italy.