When Luna Rossa Challenge and Emirates Team New Zealand lined up on Saturday, it was the first head to head meeting of AC72s in the Louis Vuitton Cup, America’s Cup Challenger Series.
A look at some stats generated from the race shows exactly where Emirates Team New Zealand made up the time.
On the three downwind legs, Dean Barker’s crew average speed (35.9 knots) was 3.4 knots faster than that of Luna Rossa (32.5 knots).
Upwind, it was closer. The Kiwis (20.1 knots) held the edge by just under one knot compared to Luna Rossa (19.15), on the two upwind legs.
Interestingly, the Italian boat sailed 1376 meters (0.74 nautical miles) further than the New Zealand boat over the length of the race, and most of this extra distance came on the upwind legs.
There was also a wider disparity between distances sailed on each upwind and downwind leg on the Italian boat, suggesting more consistency and smoother sailing by New Zealand.
The finish line delta of 5:23 is definitive but a closer look at the numbers suggests where skipper Max Sirena could focus his efforts over the coming days and weeks.
No comments:
Post a Comment