Yachting: Luna Rossa to meet Team NZ

Italy's Luna Rossa AC72 catamaran passes behind spectators at a Louis Vuitton Cup semi-final...
Italy's Luna Rossa AC72 catamaran passes behind spectators at a Louis Vuitton Cup semi-final against Swedish syndicate Artemis in San Francisco, California. REUTERS/Noah Berger
Luna Rossa will race Team New Zealand in the Louis Vuitton Cup final next week after the Italians completed a semi-final whitewash of Artemis Racing on San Francisco Bay.

Luna Rossa completed a unbeaten 4-0 run in the best-of-seven series, taking the fourth race by 2min 12sec in windy conditions gusting up to 19.3 knots.

The Italians dominated the seven-leg race over 15.49 nautical miles, averaging 24.17 knots to Artemis's 23.99 as the Swedish team picked up two boundary penalties on the race course as well as a port-starboard incident in the pre-start.

The defeat ends Artemis Racing's America's Cup hopes after their first boat was destroyed when it capsized during a testing session in May, resulting in the death of British sailor Andrew Simpson.

Team New Zealand has already completed a 4-0 clean sweep over Luna Rossa in the Louis Vuitton round-robin series last month.

The best-of-13 Louis Vuitton challenger series begins on August 17, with the winner racing off against holders Oracle for the America's Cup in September.

Add a Comment