America’s Cup 2021: Luna Rossa dominate Ineos Team UK again in Race 5 of Prada Cup final

Chalk another one in the win column for Luna Rossa.

The Italian challenger has moved within two wins of earning the right the take on Team New Zealand in the America’s Cup match, handing Ineos Team UK a fifth straight loss in the Prada Cup finals.

The win in today’s opening race was set up at the starting line, where the teams played out the most exciting start of the America’s Cup campaign thus far.

Flying toward the starting line, neither team gave an inch on the line they approach it at and came close to colliding as they crossed the line – both crossing the line early.

However, Luna Rossa had the advantageous position and protested the approach by Team UK, who were handed a penalty and had to drop 50m behind their counterparts.

That penalty wasn’t enforced until the British crew got their noses in front, and they were forced to drop back. That opened the door for Luna Rossa to get ahead and gain dominant position on the course.

Team UK managed to maintain just a 20-second deficit through the second gate, but that quickly extended to nearly a minute on the third leg.

From there, Luna Rossa simply extended the margin – crossing the finish line 80 seconds before the British crew.

A frustrated Sir Ben Anslie admitted after the race that his side were “struggling” at times.

“We just have to keep plugging away … we’re obviously struggling in straight line performance.”

“It’s in the hands of the umpires,” he added about the early penalty decision. “Knowing we were going to be off the pace in straight line performance it was worth the risk. I’d probably do the same thing again.”

Source: Read Full Article