Spithill looks for ‘payback on Poms’
LUNA Rossa ace Jimmy Spithill is seeking payback against the British and believes his team are match-hardened for their looming Prada Cup final.
The Italians cast aside a struggling American Magic 4-0 in the semifinal in Auckland yesterday to set up a juicy rematch with Ineos Team UK in the final, which starts on February 13.
The British edged Luna Rossa in a round-robin thriller to qualify directly for the final, but Spithill is adamant his team are all the better for their soulsearching and tussles with the Americans in the subsequent week.
‘‘When you look at the racing we had against the British, it was good racing, pretty competitive,’’ Spithill said. But I believe we have had the best preparation leading into the Prada Cup final. The pressure we had to face internally . . . the entire team after that series going into this sudden death (against American Magic), that’s about as good a preparation as you can get.
‘‘The British have been out there working hard. But we are fortunate enough to be racing and I believe we needed this (semifinal) series.
‘‘I actually think it was an advantage going through this series because we are a lot stronger for it. 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.’’
Luna Rossa have found another gear. Spithill’s cohelmsman Francesco Bruni suggested they had found as much as 10 per cent improvement in a week, a staggering sum
mation of the development potential in this new class of boat.
It’s not just the boat speed but the way the crew are handling it, and the work of the afterguard where Pietro Sibello has added serious input, with tactical calls and a constant eye out for wind shifts to help Spithill and Bruni.
Spithill said the review with their coaching staff after the loss to the British had been ‘‘candid and critical’’ as it needed to be. Those discussions had paid dividends and more would be needed for the challengers final.
‘‘We were pretty disappointed how our racing was going against the British. We felt we left a lot on the table and we had to be very, very critical,’’ he said.
‘‘The end result is you get better and that’s what it is all about. We made a big step but there is definitely a lot more to go. We will be going back through this series and trying to improve the boat and the way we are sailing it and making decisions.’’
Spithill, who has won the America’s Cup twice with Oracle, insisted boat speed remained the
magic ingredient and that had to be their goal, with two crucial weeks ahead of taking on Team UK.
‘‘Development is the name of the game in the America’s Cup. It will be all about boat speed and getting as much of it as we can,’’ he said.
The shore team would have their first day off in New Zealand today ‘‘and then we are back into it’’.
Spithill paid respect to the British who have improved heavily since December. But he promised them real competition in the best of 13-race final to decide who will take on Emirates Team New Zealand for the America’s Cup in March.
‘‘We know they are a tight outfit, they have done a great job turning it around from where they were in the Christmas Cup,’’ Spithill said of Sir Ben Ainslie’s outfit.
‘‘Neither team will be underestimating each other. But we will be putting the hammer down . . . we want payback from the round-robin series.’’