Luna Rossa chooses Circolo Italia for the 38th America's Cup in Naples

Patrizio Bertelli and Max Sirena have made an important decision: the historic "Circolo del Relo e della Vela Italia" will be the one through which Luna Rossa's challenge for the next America's Cup will be presented to the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron club of Auckland and holder of the Trophy, for years firmly "anchored" in its trophy cabinet at the top of the staircase that dominates the ballroom. Team Luna Rossa in the last three editions had used the Circolo della Vela Sicilia and in the past the Yacht Club Punta Ala and the Yacht Club Italiano. The choice has its own logic, both purely logistically - the club practically overlooks the race course, just a few steps away from the most luxurious hotels in Naples, where one imagines the super VIPs who will crowd the grandstands will be hosted - but above all, in the event of victory for the Italian team (one should not say this for superstitious reasons), the table would already be set for a next edition still in the Gulf of Partenope. What happens in such cases? There is an armoured contract in which the team has control over all strategic decisions and the club is a vehicle for the challenge. It is no mystery that there are constant frictions between, to take one example, the Auckland Squadron and Team New Zealand, not least the decision on a racing venue outside New Zealand. In England, the real challenger is not the historic Royal Yacht Squadron but a company set up to run the events that obviously has the same name with the addition of Limited. In short, there is a complex world behind these challenges.

The Circolo del Remo e della Vela Italia was founded in 1889 and has a track record that is, it must be said, over the top. A fascinating venue that lives all the contradictions of beautiful Naples between luxury, internationality, culture but also business that is not always legal. A few decades ago, right in the waters of Castel dell'Ovo, in addition to the fantastic International sloops, there were the blue motorboats of cigarette smuggling. We do not want to emphasise the illegality, but the pulsating and irreducible life of the "most international city in Italy" as Bertelli, president of Luna Rossa, has often defined it, saying: "For the first time in its 176-year history, the America's Cup is being held in Italy, in Naples.

This is why, after three consecutive editions in collaboration with the Circolo della Vela Sicilia, it seemed natural to us to be represented by a Yacht Club that has deep ties with the city. On behalf of the team, I would like to thank the CVS, its members, and its President Agostino Randazzo for the support and affection with which they have accompanied us over the years. Together we have lived some extraordinary moments, crowned by the unforgettable victories of the 2021 Prada Cup in Auckland and the Youth and Women America's Cups in Barcelona. We are confident that the Cvs will be the protagonists of other important challenges and we wish them every success for future achievements"..

Agostino Randazzo, president of the Sicilian club somewhat expected this. "Luna Rossa is an Italian team, I am sorry of course, but I would like to thank Patrizio Bertelli, Max Sirena and the whole team for these intense fourteen years of shared challenges and emotions in which we have achieved great results".

Max Sirena, Luna Rossa's CEO, said: "We are happy to have Circolo del Remo e della Vela Italia at our side for the 38th America's Cup. Always a reservoir of young talents and organiser of the famous Regatta of the Three Gulfs, we are honoured to have its pennant on board Luna Rossa". Please note: for the first time in a communiqué coming out of the team Max is referred to as CEO.