The first day of the Preliminary Regatta begins with nearly three hours of waiting and two aborted attempts. Then the first challenges arrive: ARC Team USA wins the opening race, Luna Rossa Senior wins the second. Meanwhile, on the waterfront, the crowds are beginning to feel the atmosphere of the 2027 World Cup.
25 September 2026. Louis Vuitton 38th America's Cup – Preliminary Regatta Naples Race Day 1 fleet
Naples, September 25, 2026 —The Gulf took its time before putting on a show. The first day of official racing in the America's Cup Preliminary Regatta began almost three hours late due to light winds. Two attempts were interrupted when the boats lost speed and fell off their foils, the appendages that allow them to rise above the water. On the third attempt, the fleet was finally able to race.
The first completed test went to ARC Team USA, in front of Luna Rossa Senior. The Italian response came immediately: in the second race, Luna Rossa took the lead and crossed the finish line first. A start complicated by the weather, therefore, but capable of offering two hard-fought battles and an initial showdown between the crews preparing for the 2027 America's Cup in Naples.
For Luna Rossa, the day confirmed the positive feelings from the previous day. On Thursday, in the non-scoring official trials, the senior crew had won all three races. Today, with the races counting for the rankings, they had to contend with a very different race course: when the wind is light, even the fastest boats can stop flying by simply losing speed.
The anticipation, however, didn't dampen the city's interest. The public followed the day from the waterfront, where the Race Village was set up, and from the areas overlooking the Gulf. It's the first concrete taste of what awaits Naples in 2027, when it will host the 38th America's Cup. This preliminary regatta, scheduled until Sunday, September 27, is a chance for teams to test themselves and refine their choices before the main event. In the water there are the AC40, with nine boats fielded by six teams.
The story that lands in the Gulf began in 1851, when the schooner America won a race around the Isle of Wight, England. The trophy was later named after the winning boat and became the prize of an international challenge spanning 175 years of sailing history. Italy has chased it several times; in Naples, Luna Rossa does so again in front of its home crowd.
The first day leaves a clear indication, without issuing verdicts: The Americans have shown they can win, Luna Rossa has been able to react and the wind remains a decisive protagonist. After a long wait, Naples saw its first official regattas. The road to the 2027 World Cup has truly begun.
