America's Cup: Europeans among themselves: historic Prada Cup final ahead

The second and final day of racing in the only semi-final of the 36th America's Cup challenger round brought no more surprises. The result has Italy's Cup fans dreaming. As in the semi-final opener the day before, the Azzurri with "Luna Rossa" also prevailed twice on Saturday against the disenchanted Team American Magic, winning the semi-final encounter unbeaten 4:0 and sending the Americans home.

"We competed against a formidable Italian team and they beat us," was the simple and frustrating summary of US skipper Terry Hutchinson, who was eliminated with his team. And the Italians? After their first two semi-final victories, they were no longer comparing themselves to their current opponents, but to their upcoming British opponents in the final. On Saturday, the eyes of the Azzurri were also focussed on Sir Ben Ainslie's Ineos Team UK. When asked what helmsman Francesco Bruni would possibly want from the British boat, he said confidently: "Pretty much nothing. But a good competition."

American Magic's New Zealand helmsman Dean Barker said of the team's farewell to the New York Yacht Club after the resounding defeats on the water: "The Italians didn't make any mistakes. It's frustrating for us not to be able to contest the last few races in the semi-finals. It was simply no longer an option. Getting the boat back on the water after capsizing a fortnight ago was an outstanding achievement by our team. I'm proud of that. But we were up against a team in the semi-final that has taken a huge step forward since the last encounter." The Americans themselves were unable to do so after their spectacular capsize with a large hole in the hull, despite completing a marathon of repairs.

Historic challenger final

While the Americans pack their bags, Patrizio Bertelli's Team Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli is gearing up for the historic all-European challenger final against Sir Ben Ainslie's Ineos Team UK. The pairing is doubly good news for European Cup fans, as the upcoming clash between the teams from Italy and the United Kingdom already ensures that a European team will enter the 36th America's Cup clash (from 6 March) against the New Zealand Cup defenders. The question is: can the British continue their recent dominance against Italy in the preliminary round, or have the Italians really made as big a leap in the rapidly developing technology and handling competition with the new futuristic monohull foiling boats as they have looked over the past two days?

Both teams will provide the answers on the water from 13 February. The final of the challenger round will be held in "First to win 7" mode - whoever scores seven points first will advance to the 36th match for the oldest and most important trophy in sailing, where they will face Emirates Team New Zealand. Prada's co-skipper Jimmy Spithill, known for his pithy remarks and strong self-confidence, said before the match: "We let a lot slip in the preliminary races against the British and were pretty disappointed. But we've now made up a lot of ground, even if there's still a lot to do. We certainly won't underestimate each other and will do everything we can to ensure that the Poms make amends to us for the previous round." Prada's Italian helmsman Francesco Bruni emphasised his team's intentions even more: "We will put up a good fight against the British. We want to win every race."

Bruno Troublé, initiator of the challenger series in 1983, which was then still called the Louis Vuitton Cup, and today moderator of the daily press conferences in Auckland, told YACHT online: "There were a number of European challengers in the America's Cup in the middle of the 20th century. The 'Shamrock(s)', 'Endeavour', 'Souvereign'... But only 'Il Moro di Venezia' in 1992 and 'Luna Rossa' in 2000 have reached the final of the challenger round as European teams, before Alinghi won the America's Cup in 2003 and 2007. I'm already looking forward to seeing the Italians or the British in the America's Cup." Bruno Troblé's Cup prediction: "It will be much closer than we expect!"