The second 2026 Preliminary Regatta for the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup is being held in the Bay of Naples, with racing scheduled for September 25–27, following official practice racing today, September 24.
Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup +1
And there is already a major storyline: Luna Rossa 1 absolutely dominated today’s practice racing.
Luna Rossa makes an early statement in Naples
The principal Luna Rossa team — led by Peter Burling, with Marco Gradoni, Maria Giubilei and Gianluigi Ugolini — won all three official practice races today.
The margins were striking. The America’s Cup organisation reports that Luna Rossa at times stretched its advantage to around 500 metres, using the right-hand side of the course effectively and reading the shifting breeze extremely well. The AC40s were reaching speeds of more than 30 knots in a 10–12-knot sea breeze. �
Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup
But Athena Pathway is absolutely part of this story.
Athena Pathway is competing in the Naples Preliminary Regatta with Hannah Mills, Ellie Aldridge, Sam Webb and Matt Beck. Mills and Aldridge are both helmswomen, while Webb and Beck are the trimmers.
YACHT – Alles rund ums Segeln
And this isn’t simply another regatta for the British team. Athena Pathway already showed in Sardinia that it can exploit difficult conditions: the team won Race 5 of the first Preliminary Regatta after staying on its foils while much of the fleet struggled in unstable, light air.
Boating New Zealand
And Luna Rossa has something to prove
Luna Rossa enters Naples with the benchmark established in Sardinia. The principal team won the first Preliminary Regatta, while the Luna Rossa Women & Youth crew also produced a strong showing. The Naples event is therefore the next opportunity to see whether that performance translates to a completely different course and weather environment.
Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup
The Naples course is particularly interesting because the wind can be far less predictable than Sardinia. Sailors are dealing with sea breezes and offshore flows affected by the surrounding terrain, including the Posillipo area. Andrea Tesei described the conditions as highly shifty and gusty, with significant changes in direction and pressure.
Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup
So tomorrow’s racing could look very different from today’s practice.
The important dates are:
September 24: Official Practice Racing — Luna Rossa 1 wins all three races.
September 25: Preliminary Regatta racing begins.
September 26: Racing continues.
September 27: Final racing day.
This is also the first time the AC40 fleet is racing on the actual 2027 America’s Cup venue/course area in Naples, making the event an interesting technical reference point for teams preparing for the next America’s Cup cycle.
