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Friday's Prada Cup racing canned, 'ghost races' to take place following American Magic capsize

January 20, 2021

The Americans will spend the next 11 days repairing Patriot in time for the semi-finals, skipper Terry Hutchinson said.

A revised schedule for the Prada Cup has been released following American Magic’s dramatic capsize.

Friday’s scheduled round robin racing has been dropped, with American Magic unable to complete repairs in time to compete as planned.

Luna Rossa and INEOS Team UK will instead face off in races on Saturday and Sunday with start times on both days at 4pm.

Barker and company were locked in a close race with Luna Rossa when disaster struck.

The races will be screened on TVNZ1. 

However, with INEOS only needing one more win to secure a place in the Prada Cup final, should they win on Saturday they, along with Luna Rossa, can decide whether or not to race again on Sunday in what will effectively be a dead rubber.

Another quirk of American Magic’s withdrawal is the implementation of “ghost races” where Luna Rossa and Team UK will have to cross the start line in what would have been their races against American Magic in order to gain the point.

“In order to comply with the formality of the Regulations, after finishing the above races both competitors will have to take the start of a “ghost race” vs New York Yacht Club American Magic to allow the Regatta Director to award the point to the relevant team,” Prada Cup organisers explain.

“The “ghost race” will then be suspended just a few minutes after the start. The rule of 25 minutes between the two starts will not apply to these “ghost races”.”

The winner of the Prada Cup will take on Team New Zealand for the America’s Cup in March.

American Magic hopes to have its boat Patriot repaired in time to take place in the Prada Cup semi-finals, scheduled to begin on January 29.

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