36th America's Cup: Luna Rossa record two wins over INEOS TEAM UK in PRADA Cup Final

INEOS TEAM UK were beaten twice by Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli on the opening day of the PRADA Cup Final in Auckland.

After going unbeaten in the PRADA Cup Round Robins, the British outfit endured one narrow loss and one of a greater margin on Saturday, at the start of the first-to-seven-wins series.

The race conditions were much changed to the last time that the two remaining challengers met, as the winds stayed lower and Course A was chosen by the race management.

It was the first time that INEOS TEAM UK had returned to racing after using the past 20 days to develop and refine race boat BRITANNIA.

Sir Ben Ainslie's outfit had earned that time by progressing directly into the PRADA Cup Final from the Round Robins and he believed that BRITANNIA being off the water for developments had not hindered them.

"I think that we did [sail enough]. We clearly wanted to make some changes to our boat to try and get more performance," Ainslie said during the post-race press conference.

"That's the trade-off: between time in the shed and time on the water. It's a balance we're always trying to strive for and get right.

"The Italians sailed really well today, in both races. The first race, I think it was a case that one boat could get out of the water and one couldn't.

"The second, was a really close race, and they just got it slightly better than we did."

A credit to them, but we've just got to keep pushing. Nothing has really changed for us, we've got to win seven more races, we've got to try and get the boat going faster and we've got to sail better.

Within the America's Cup, the pre-start is always an integral part of racing. It's a two-minute period in which the teams jostle and prepare to cross the start-line at exactly the right moment, when the clock hits 0:00.

Ainslie is known for his aggressive racing, as is Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli's co-helmsman Jimmy Spithill, and yet during Saturday's first race, INEOS TEAM UK's start was impacted by the wind conditions.

With the breeze being around seven or eight knots, and previous races having been up in the late teens, INEOS TEAM UK entered the start box and then fell off their foils during the first tack.

While INEOS TEAM UK were on the water with 30 seconds to go, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli foiled towards the start line at pace. The Italians hit it, raced away, developed their advantage and never relinquished their lead.

One boat could get off the foils and the other couldn't, that was the story. It is what it is, we just have to do the best that we can in the conditions and keep pushing.

As the wind continued to build, it made the second race of the day an altogether different contest. The course remained the same, but the wind conditions had heightened significantly to around 15 to 16 knots.

With these foiling 75-foot monoholls, a greater level of wind speed facilities foiling and in turn, really pushes the outfits to compete hard with each other and sail on the edge.

This time, a higher octane pre-start did take place, as both teams looked to gain the optimal route over the start line and in turn, force the other into a position they didn't want to be in.

Both boats surged over the start line together and then showed a similar speed, before they decided to take different sides of the race course.

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The Italian team edged it around first top mark by 11 seconds, with both teams engaging in animated on-board communication as two high-quality outfits pushed each other to the limit.

As the six-leg race continued, the Italians just looked to have a click of extra pace in their armoury; that resulted in their 450m lead on the final leg and a second victory by 26 seconds.

Alright guys, good effort. It just wasn't going to happen today. Let's keep pushing.

"We have to keep focused on the next races, it's only two points. It's a long series, the longest series so far, and we have to think race-by-race, day-by-day," Francesco Bruni said.

"The performances of the boats, if you take away the first race which was clearly won at the start, the performances were very close on the second race. I think we're going to see a lot of close racing. So, we won't take anything for granted and will think about the next race."

Watch every moment of the America's Cup challenge, live on Sky Sports. Coverage continues with the PRADA Cup final at 3am on Sunday, live on Sky Sports Mix, repeated again at 8am.