Spithill calls for improvements
AUCKLAND: Luna Rossa helmsman Jimmy Spithill was encouraged by the Italian team’s dominant display against American Magic in the Prada Cup semifinals but said the syndicate would need to make further improvements before this month’s showdown against INEOS Team UK.
Luna Rossa stormed into the final of the challenger series after completing a 40 sweep of the American team and will take on Ben Ainslie’s Team UK to determine the syndicate to face Team New Zealand for the America’s Cup.
‘‘We definitely made an improvement in performance, but it’s not enough,’’ Spithill told The New Zealand Herald.
‘‘We’re going to need more and that’s the name of the game.
‘‘We will be putting a lot of blood, sweat and tears to really improve in terms of the way we’re sailing and our technique.
‘‘We’ve got a lot of upgrades planned . . . There are so many things to do, and you need to balance time in the shed with time on the water.’’
The British team won a tight roundrobin race against Luna Rossa to qualify directly for the Prada Cap final, but Spithill is confident of securing a different outcome this time around.
‘‘The British have been out there working hard. But we are fortunate enough to be racing and I believe we needed this semifinal series,’’ he told Stuff.
‘‘We know there is a lot more on the table, and we will be doing everything we can to come out and get some payback on the Poms.’’ American Magic’s campaign came to an end when it was beset with mechanical issues with its foil arms in the second race on Saturday and it fell behind by more than 3km towards the end, finishing almost 4min behind Luna Rossa, which had earlier cruised to victory with a 35sec win in the first race.
The winner of the Prada Cup will take on Team New Zealand from March 6 for the America’s Cup.