America's Cup, Luna Rossa comes close against New Zealand in preliminary races

It has been an interesting four days of preliminary racing for the Louis Vuitton America's Cup number 37, which starts in a few days with the first Round Robin of the challenger selection races that will meet the Defender Emirates Team New Zealand in October: a team led by Grant Dalton with helmsmen Peter Burling and Nathan Outteridge.

They were a good appetizer of the show that awaits the sailors, giving us the measure of what is on the field. A first impression that all in all confirmed the forecasts: Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli reached the final and after a bloody regatta the Kiwis beat our heroes, proving once again to be a team that is hard to beat.

However... they have shown a few cracks, a little light enters the cracks, which may suggest that the competition will be spectacular and important. Behind the two "duelling" teams, which meet without peace as in Ridley Scott's film (with subject matter by the master of the sea Joseph Conrad), the competition is crumbling at the moment as per the ranking: American Magic New York Yacht Club led by Terry Huchinson closes with the honour of having beaten the Kiwis but with an alternating current ranking that does not give full credit to the team's efforts.

In fourth and fifth place are the two teams that have spent a lot of money on research with designer teams linked to Formula One: Ineos Britannia in which Jim Ratcliffe (the UK's wealthiest private entrepreneur) led by superstar Ben Ainslie invests, and Alinghi Red Bull Racing which has a stellar design team with Marcelin Botin and Adrian Newey.

From the two teams many uncertainties that perhaps they do not deserve, or perhaps they do: the America's Cup is a game that requires a lot of specific experience, the modern 'do it all over again' mood does not seem to work in this world as in others, the solidity of the Kiwis and Italians tells another story.