The Prada Cup: how it works . . .
Official racing is about to begin with the challengers sailing amongst themselves to earn the right to take on Team New Zealand in the America’s Cup match.
Here’s a breakdown of how the Prada Cup works.
What’s involved?
The three challengers assembled in Auckland – Italy’s Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, INEOS Team UK and American Magic – sail against each other for the Prada Cup. The new piece of silverware and naming rights are taken on by Italian fashion house Prada who replace long-term sponsor
Louis Vuitton.
What’s the format?
Having just three challengers makes things a bit tricky. Initially they have four series of round robins, the teams facing each other four times over the next two weekends (Friday to Sunday) with 12 races in all. Teams get a point for each win. The winner of the round-robin series advances to the Prada Cup final. The two other teams go into a semifinal. Howdoes the semifinal work? The two teams face a seven-race series from January 29 to February 2 with the first to get four wins advancing to the Prada Cup final. The loser is eliminated.
Howdoes the finalwork?
The Prada Cup final is raced from
February 13-22. It’s a best of 13 races series with the first team to claim seven wins taking the silverware. The winner goes on tomeet Emirates Team New Zealand in the America’s Cup match, another best of 13 races affair that starts on March 6.
Who is going to win?
The bookmakers have American Magic favoured at $1.75, Luna Rossa are at $2.35 and INEOS Team UK at $8. That’s a pretty fair reflection of the limited build-up form displayed over two short series of practice races and the world series event in December which Team New Zealand won, but dropped one race to American Magic. What’s the secret to success? Get on your foils quickly and stay on them with 100 per cent air time a likely requirement for victory. These boats, which are capable of 50 knots or more, are incredibly tricky to handle even for the world’s best sailors. Forcing an opponent off their foils will be a tactical play in prestarts or during tacking duels. The teams’ weather forecasters will play a crucial role, predicting what conditions lie ahead. That’s because teams have to declare their boat configurations on a Wednesday for the looming weekend’s racing. They have to stay with those essential items like foils and rudders for that block of racing, they can’t change them. So teams may need appendages that cover a wide range of wind conditions. The beauty with a development class is there will be plenty of improvement as racing evolves. These teams don’t sit still, their boat sheds will be a hive of activity after each day, looking for gains.
What do Team Newzealand do now?
The defenders are left to themselves in the tradition of Cup racing. Peter Burling and his champion crew will look to maximise the potential of their boat Te Rehutai through testing and development over January and February. They will train alone and put in plenty of hours on the simulator. They will also have eyes glued to the Prada Cup, analysing their opposition’s strengths and weaknesses as they await the team to take them on in the America’s Cup match.