From this Friday, Naples’ gulf transforms into a compact test lab for the America’s Cup. Teams will fine‑tune their AC40s here before the 38th edition sails next summer. Will the gulf of Naples prove the perfect proving ground?
The Naples qualifier runs 24‑27 September, gathering nine AC40s. Defending champion Team New Zealand will clash with hopeful challengers eager to snatch sailing’s oldest trophy.
The format is simple yet revealing. Identical AC40s let crews field two boats: a senior crew gearing up for the 2027 AC75 showdown, and a mixed youth‑women crew prepping the Youth & Women’s Cup. Nine boats will line the water, with Team New Zealand, GB1 and Luna Rossa each running two entries, while Tudor Alinghi, La Roche‑Posay and Team USA field a single craft.
Luna Rossa enjoys home advantage.
All eyes will be on Luna Rossa. The Italian squad arrives fresh from winning the Cagliari qualifier, where they beat Team New Zealand in a match‑race final. The real surprise lies inside the boat: Marco Gradoni, a standout of the new generation, has been promoted to the senior crew alongside Peter Burling and Ruggero Tita.
Gradoni showed in Cagliari that pressure doesn’t shake him. He pushed seasoned rivals to the brink, helping Luna Rossa’s youth‑women team edge close to a bigger triumph. For my money, his rapid rise could reshape the challenger hierarchy. Now he faces the heavyweight challengers directly.
Opposite them stands the defender. Team New Zealand, runner‑up in Cagliari after reaching the final, heads to Naples to keep decoding AC40 behavior and test its speed against a fleet that’s already revealing its cards.
It isn’t the America’s Cup itself, nor will results affect the 2027 qualification. Still, the event offers a snapshot of a competition still taking shape. Eight fleet legs and a match‑race final will push speed, tactics and crew coordination, and every nuance in Naples will matter. The data gathered here will likely dictate which team leads the 2027 showdown.
Botín and Trittel represent Spain at the start line.
The only Spaniards in the field are skipper Diego Botín and trimmer Florian Trittel, sailing for the French outfit La Roche‑Posay.
Olympic champions have cemented their place in the America’s Cup after strong showings on the Rolex SailGP circuit, catching the eye of La Roche‑Posay. They now join the core team led on shore by Stephan Kandler and Bruno Duboís and on water by Quentin Delapierre.