Max Sirena: "Naples 2027 will be the most beautiful America's Cup ever"

"I think that 2027, in Italy, in Naples, will be the most beautiful America's Cup ever. I wake up every day with a specific goal: to lift the trophy with the Italian colours. Luna Rossa is my family, I have it tattooed on me." Max Sirena thus talks about the relationship with Luna Rossa and the dream that has accompanied his life for almost thirty years, but also what the Cup could represent for Italy and Naples: "In Bagnoli, a new life was given to an area that had been stagnant for decades. An event like this was a boost to speed up these transformation processes".

"Mine is a morbid bond with the team - says the CEO of Luna Rossa, in an interview broadcast on the official channels of Sport and Health, the implementing body of the America's Cup appointed by the Italian Government -.

She is my second mother. It's Patrizio Bertelli, for whom I feel immense affection. I consider myself privileged." For Sirena, Luna Rossa is a technical and sporting movement "called to represent an entire country". A challenge that in 2027 will also be a highly psychological match: "You have to be attentive from all points of view, you must never take anything for granted. Often the result is decided with choices on the pitch which can then dictate the sporting result."

But the America's Cup can also be an extraordinary tool for building the future of sailing. "The goal is to bring more and more young people together," says Sirena. And that is precisely what is being done because sailing "is a real school of life". "It is essential to reach young people", he adds, especially "children who are far from the sea".

In the interview, Sirena then underlines a "historic step" of the America's Cup 2027: the entry of women on board the teams. But before 2027 there will be a first, important taste in Naples, with the preliminary regatta scheduled for 24 to 27 September. "I expect a higher level than the preliminary regatta in Cagliari, we would like to confirm the result. We were the first to come to train in Naples".

The test, for Sirena, will be "an opportunity to see and put pressure on opponents", but above all it will represent "a preview of the 2027 America's Cup". Naples will in fact be much more than the place where the races will be held. "The warmth of Naples and Italy will be the added value. We will race very close to the city, it will be nice."