There is a hint of Canavese in the great tale of Luna Rossa

Strambinese Stefano Beltrando protagonist of the prestigious America’s Cup In the waters of the Auckland bay he also won the Prada Cup

WEIRD

There is also a pinch of Canavese in the fabulous ride (on the waves) that made Italians dream at the beginning of 2021, when Luna Rossa, in the waters of the Auckland bay, first won the Prada Cup, becoming the official challenger of New Zealand for the final regattas which then awarded the hosts the 36th edition of the America’s Cup, the most prestigious among sailing trophies.

The credit goes to Stefano Beltrando, from Strambino born in 1975, who was Quality control manager of the Italian crew, a role “behind the scenes”, but fundamental for the achievement of results in the water.

The America’s Cup is the ideal conjunction, for Stefano, of passion and professionalism: sailing entered his life when he was a middle school student and today he has made it a real profession, being the founder and owner of QI Composites, company (based in Piverone), which for years has been dealing with non-destructive analyzes, in particular on carbon structures, the basic material of modern racing hulls and their equipment, primarily trees.

Beltrando and QI Composites have been involved in the America’s Cup right from the start of the project: «The adventure of this challenge, from the point of view of development and construction, starts from afar – he says -. Since the beginning of 2018, all ten members of the QI Composites team have alternated and carried out various tasks for the Italian crew: chemical tests on resins and adhesives, non-destructive and destructive analyzes, development of projects, up to the impact study. environmental aspects of boat building “.

Stefano experienced firsthand both the Prada Cup, which ended with a resounding success for Luna Rossa (seven races won and only one lost against the English favorites of Ineos) and the thrilling final of the America’s Cup which saw the Italian crew contend for the trophy to the last to the hosts of New Zeland.

The 7-3 final for the “Kiwis” is a more than honorable result: «There was no absolute predominance, not even when they struck four consecutive victories – said Stefano at the end of the experience -. 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. 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 ».

The next edition is scheduled for 2024: Luna Rossa is already ready for the challenge; Stefano Beltrando and the IQ Composites, too, to try to conquer that cup that has never before been conquered by an Italian crew. –

Federico Bona