Auckland, New Zealand (December 19, 2020) – With the PRADA Auckland America Cup World Series now ready and the winner crowned, the final stage of racing for 2020 changes gear with PRADA Christmas Race, scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 20. This is a hit series consisting of two semifinals and a pair of finals.
On the water the race looks very similar to the previous three days, but unlike the round races, this is an exciting event. As a full four-day package both events give a close-up of the whole process next year.
But no matter what you look at, the racing is still very important to all four teams and has revealed a lot about their relative strengths and weaknesses. For American Magic, the previous three days have shown, based on points, that they are the fastest of the Challenges. Moreover, they are the only ones who have beaten the Defenders so far. Moreover, Terry Hutchinson’s team has proven that they can deliver over a reasonably wide range of conditions despite some self-doubt about how fast they are in light conditions.
A similar picture has surfaced for Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, although he failed to beat the New Zealand Emirates Team, despite coming very close in the final race of the PRADA ACWS Auckland . Their ability to perform near misses under pressure as a result of their unique double helmsman arrangement has been a talking point and they seem to have marginalized the team in tight situations. They also look slippery in the light and perhaps more importantly, able to match the defenders ’ability to fly in light weather.
Sadly, this was not the case for INEOS TEAM UK who had major difficulties accessing their publications or staying there when the wind blows.
Ironically, for a team that had an incredibly difficult third day where they didn’t finish both races, they were the fastest boat in a straight line with yesterday’s top speed of 43.3knots. (Interestingly American Magic was the slowest). Once the winds are above a certain threshold Sir Ben Ainslie ‘s team are showing signs of being able to match the others, but it is clear that there is still a long way to go.
For Team Emirates New Zealand today is also extremely important. This will be the last time they race against the three Challenges. The next time they are on the race course he will actually be in the American Cup in March. By then they will face the strongest in the fight for the oldest international sports award in the world. An opponent who will no doubt pick up their game in battle to win the famous spot.
The New Zealand Emirates Team have a good knowledge of the process, having been their own Challenge in the last American Cup in Bermuda and although the final result will be the same as they will be on the starting line for America’s Cup, they wear a different hat.
But for all the relative achievements among the teams, the weather today seems to be taking the four to new ground in a live racing environment.
“Depending on what weather model you look at it shows a small change in wind speed that we can expect today,” explained Regatta Director John Murray. “In total, we are looking at 4 nautical miles at 3pm, rising to 7-11 nautical miles from around 040 by 6pm. I think we’ll get races in; it is just a question of how long we will have to wait. We have a tight limit that we need to clear the race course by 7pm to comply with shipping requirements. ”
Another day racing is another opportunity for more data, more analysis and more precision for all. So while the desire to get out of there and race is clearly there across the fleet, the weather is arguably the last.
PRADA Christmas Race is a hit series featuring two semifinals and a pair of finals tomorrow with races starting at 3:00 pm NZT weather permitting, the exact start time published on americascup.com. The ACWS was held December 17-19, with the final result confirming the original pairs for a two-stage Christmas Race on December 20th.
America Cup details – details Dec 17-20 – Results – YouTube – Time lapse
U.S. viewers can watch all races live on NBC Sports Gold. NBC Sports Network and www.nbcsports.com carry most of the racing live or with time delays, and all races will be available on replay (see table). International viewers can watch live and replayed races through the America Cup website and the America Cup YouTube channel (see details).
36th American Cup
In addition to Italian, US, and British Challenges accepted during the initial entry period (January 1 to June 30, 2018), an additional eight Challenge Notices were received prior to the late entry date of November 30, 2018. Of those, eight applications were accepted, entries from Malta, USA and Holland. Here is the list:
Defendant:
• Emirates New Zealand (NZL) Team
Opponents:
• Luna Rossa (ITA) – Record opponent
• American Magic (USA)
• UK INEOS Team (GBR)
• Altus Malta Challenge (MLT) – TO BE ABLE
• Stars + Stripes USA (USA) Team – TO BE ABLE
• DutchSail (NED) – TO BE ABLE
Central America Cup Dates:
✔ September 28, 2017: 36th American Cup Protocol released
✔ November 30, 2017: AC75 class concepts released to key stakeholders
✔ January 1, 2018: entries for open opposition
✔ March 31, 2018: Class AC75 Rule published
✔ June 30, 2018: Entries for opponents close
✔ August 31, 2018: American Cup Match and PRADA Cup match confirmed
✔ August 31, 2018: Special race track area confirmed
✔ November 30, 2018: Deadline for late applications
✔ March 31, 2019: Boat 1 can be launched (HYMN)
✔ 2nd half of 2019: 2 x American World Cup Series events (RETURNED)
✔ October 1, 2019: US $ 1million late entry fee date (NO INFORMATION)
✔ February 1, 2020: Boat 2 can be launched (HYMN)
✔ April 23-26, 2020: First (1/3) American Cup World Series event in Cagliari, Sardinia (RETURNED)
✔ June 4-7, 2020: The second (2/3) American Cup World Series event in Portsmouth, England (RETURNED)
• December 17-20, 2020: The third (3/3) American World Cup Series event in Auckland, New Zealand
• January 15 – February 22, 2021: PRADA Cup Selection Series
• March 6-15, 2021: American Cup Match
American Youth Cup Competition (RETURNED)
• February 18-23, 2021
• March 1-5, 2021
• March 8-12, 2021
AC75 launch dates:
September 6, 2019 – Emirates New Zealand (NZL) Team, Boat 1
September 10, 2019 – American Magic (USA), Boat 1; earlier start date but has not been released
October 2, 2019 – Luna Rossa (ITA), Boat 1
October 4, 2019 – INEOS Team UK (GBR), Boat 1
16 October 2020 – American Magic (USA), Boat 2
17 October 2020 – UK INEOS Team (GBR), Boat 2
20 October 2020 – Luna Rossa (ITA), Boat 2
November 19, 2020 – Emirates New Zealand (NZL) Team, Boat 2
Details: www.americascup.com
