LUNA ROSSA PRADA PIRELLI (Italy)
Chairman: Patrizio Bertelli
Director & skipper: Max Sirena
Helmsmen: Francesco Bruni & Jimmy Spithill
Affiliation: Circolo della Vela Sicilia
Past record: Louis Vuitton Cup winners 2000
History: As Challengers of Record, the Italians have put themselves squarely in the Kiwis' firing line and have proved worthy rivals over the past two decades.
Debuting in 2000, they won the challenger series, but were swept by Team NZ off Auckland, as the home team defended the 'Auld Mug'.
Since then, Luna Rossa have missed just two editions of the America's Cup - 2010, when Oracle took the trophy off Alinghi in a single-boat challenge, and 2017, when they withdrew in protest of a change in boat specifications.
With Spithill at the helm, they lost to Team NZ in the 2007 Louis Vuitton final at Valencia and again four years later at San Francisco, under Sirena.
The adversaries have built a level of mutual respect over the years and after New Zealand regained the Cup in 2017, Luna Rossa was almost immediately named as Challengers of Record, despite their absence at Bermuda.
TAB odds: $5.50
