Italians end American challenge, will race British for right to face New Zealand

BARCELONA, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Italy's Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli yacht will compete against INEOS Britannia in the Louis Vuitton Cup Final for the right to face New Zealand in the final of the America's Cup, after finally ending the challenge of NYYC American Magic on Thursday.

The Italians had led the first-to-five series 4 races to 0, but a brave fightback from the US vessel crew and technical problems for the Italians in the past few days saw them draw back to 4-3 in the competition being held in the water off Barcelona.

Luna Rossa's shore team had to repair the mainsail 'traveler track' system overnight before the race, but their work was rewarded as their yacht won the first race of the day to ensure they would face the British.

INEOS Britannia had previously assured its place in the final, which is due to start on September 26, after completing their win over the Swiss challenge of the Alinghi Red Bull Racing yacht on Wednesday.

Luna Rossa captain Jimmy Spithill was full of praise for his team's mechanics, saying it was "an incredible effort from the guys on the shore."

"This is my eighth campaign in a row now and you always face a couple of moments in a campaign where you kind of find out what you're made of, and I really felt like yesterday was one of those for the entire team."

"The guys in the shore team (...) worked all through the night to get our boat ready to race and go on and win. You're usually pretty motivated when you go out there but when you see that and how you live it as a team, it's a very, very powerful thing," he added. ■