At the end of the series of regattas celebrations despite the defeat. The stranger Beltrando: “Satisfaction is greater than disappointment”
STRAMBINO
Luna Rossa’s dream was shattered when in Italy it was dawn on Wednesday: the seventh regatta won by the New Zeland team allowed the Kiwis to keep the America’s Cup, at the end of an exciting final, which made the crew dream Italian and the many enthusiasts who have followed the exploits of the tricolor boat. As soon as the last regatta ended, the Italian team still celebrated, as Stefano Beltrando, the stranger who followed the technical development of Luna Rossa, tells us: «Yes, we have given birth to a great” party of defeat “- says from Auckland – because the satisfaction for what we have managed to do is far greater than the disappointment of not being able to win the cup. Never has an Italian boat managed to win more than one final race. This time we have won three and, above all, we have played on par with the New Zealanders, to whom we have certainly frightened, as never happened in the past ».
great balance
The final was held, as usual, at the best of thirteen regattas: to conquer the America’s Cup it was necessary to win seven and in the first days it seemed that Luna Rossa could work the miracle: the first three days (each with two regattas) seen a great balance between the Italian boat and that of the Cup holders: 1-1, then 2-2 and 3-3. Only starting from the seventh regatta did New Zeland take off and with four consecutive victories it won the cup. «But it was not easy for them – continues Beltrando -: there was a great balance and every regatta saw the result in question. We have literally thrown away many races due to mistakes ». To use football jargon, can we talk about a final “decided by the episodes”? «Absolutely yes – confirms Stefano -, above all because there was no absolute predominance, not even when they scored four consecutive victories. I would say that they have been particularly good, and a little lucky, at making up for mistakes. Obviously, everyone does it in every regatta: we have paid dearly for ours, while they have often managed to recover them. In the end this made a difference. There are still many beautiful things: the awareness of having done an excellent job during these three years of preparation and the satisfaction of having suffered a very fast boat and a great crew for a week. I don’t think they expected a strong and demanding rival like Luna Rossa proved to be ».
The greatest satisfaction was the pressure put on the New Zealand team: «Their boat was undoubtedly faster than Luna Rossa, but we were more familiar with racing, thanks to the Prada Cup we raced to access the final. The real superiority was shown by Luna Rossa in the first phase, when she overtook American Magic 4-0 in the semifinals and 7-1 Ineos Team UK in the final. Against New Zealand, on the other hand, every regatta was to the death ».
the next challenge
And now? «We are ready for the next challenge – concludes Beltrando -, we are just waiting to understand what will be the rules that will define the holders and the challengers, Team Ineos. All Luna Rossa staff will still stay here in Auckland for a while, just to define the future. Then I will give myself a few days of vacation here in New Zealand, also because it is a Covid-free nation where you can do the things that until just over a year ago were also normal for us in Italy: being around people , attend a party or attend a concert in 5000. Also for this reason it was wonderful to experience the final here, among thousands of people who followed the regattas from the port or on hundreds of boats. Upon returning from the decisive regatta we were greeted on the dock by a multitude of fans, both Italian and New Zealand: it was an exciting and very rewarding catwalk ». –
Federico Bona