The possibility of an Italy and New Zealand showdown in the first preliminary regatta for the 38th America's Cup is growing on the eve of the final day of racing.
Luna Rossa's women and youth team lead the point standings on 55 points, ahead of Team New Zealand's principal crew on 47 points and Luna Rossa's principal crew on 44 points.
Team New Zealand port helm Seb Menzies said the team had a good day while performing in variable wind conditions.
In choppy waters yesterday, the crew lost control of steering and nosedived as they struggled with the autopilot settings, taking them from first place to last place in the final race.
"A lot of review, a lot of reviewing what went wrong."
Team New Zealand was praised for their calm communication on board by commentators.
"Today had some stressful moments, I guess you're just trying to stay calm and yeah, talk to each other like without tone or anything like that so you keep the boat calm and make the best decisions you can."
Trimmer Andy Maloney said the team are feeling "pretty solid across the range" ahead of the final day with a game plan for handling the auto pilot when waves hit.
Maloney said it's fun to battle the Italian crews in their home waters.
"To be able to come in here and try and beat them but it is fleet racing to this stage of the event and we've just got to try and make that final... and that's when it will all come out."
Peter Burling, co-helm for Luna Rossa's principal crew said they were on the back foot today after clipping the boundaries.
"I mean such small margins when you're trying to get up round the back of people but I mean we're in the hunt, just got to make the top two and then you're into the match race, little bit of work to do tomorrow to do that but excited by the challenge."
Team New Zealand's women and youth crew are in 4th place after six fleet races on 39 points, with the French racing team on 38 points, the British women and youth crew Athena Pathway on 30 points and Swiss outfit Tudor Team Alinghi on 29 points.
GB1, the British principal crew remains on nine points after being plagued by equipment failure for a second day running and not competing on the second day of fleet racing.
Emirates Team New Zealand features the new helming combination of Nathan Outteridge and Seb Menzies and trimmers Iain Jensen and Andy Maloney.
The women and youth team includes the helming duo of Erica Dawson and Jake Pye, and trimmers Serena Woodall and Josh Armit.
In the first race, Team New Zealand crossed the finish line two seconds ahead of Luna Rossa's principal team led by former Team New Zealand skipper Peter Burling.
The race saw the two competitors switching between the top spot, at times equal with zero metres between them but a final manoeuvre saw the Kiwis seal the deal.
The second race was won by Athena Pathway, with Luna Rossa's women and youth crew in second place ahead of Team New Zealand's principal crew and Luna Rossa in fourth.
The final race showed more tight racing between New Zealand and Italy's two yachts on their backyard ocean.
Team New Zealand's principal crew and Luna Rossa's women and youth team jostled for the lead near the start of the race. New Zealand was in the lead near the end of the race but on the final leg Italy's crew made the most of the limited breeze while New Zealand hit a lull.
There was zero metres in it before a final manoeuvre from Team New Zealand was timed too late and didn't give them the speed they were searching for, finishing 11 seconds behind Italy, who picked up their third fleet race win of the regatta.
The Luna Rossa crew have shone in Sardinia so far, making the most of their advantage with spending the most hours training in the one-design AC40 yacht with autopilot setting managing the hydrofoils on the Gulf of the Angels where the regatta is being held.
In the second race, Tudor Team Alinghi didn't finish after capsizing when their yacht lost balance during low wind. The team was announced just five months ago with Kiwi Phil Robertson one of the helmsman.
The regatta is the first time crews have raced since the America's Cup in Barcelona in 2024.
Many new combinations are being trialled and teams are sizing up how their competition is going at the cup cycle begins.
It's the first time Team New Zealand's been able to show they can dominate in a new era without former skipper Peter Burling and trimmer Blair Tuke, who were part of history as the first continual team to win the America's Cup three times in a row.
Watch this weekend’s preliminary regatta live on TVNZ+
TVNZ will also have full live coverage of the 38th America's Cup in 2027.
SHARE ME