America's Cup 2027 in Naples — the teams, the results, the road so far

Emirates Team New Zealand defends for a third consecutive time, in the first America's Cup ever held in Italy — Naples was announced as host on 15 May 2025. The skipper is now Nathan Outteridge; Burling has moved to Luna Rossa. It has not announced a Naples arrival date; Il Mattino (via Sail-World) puts it among the last to arrive, around February 2027.

The British challenge has changed shape. INEOS Britannia withdrew on 9 April 2025, and the Challenger of Record is now GB1 of the Royal Yacht Squadron — formerly Athena Racing, rebranded after Oakley Capital took a majority stake. Sir Ben Ainslie is Team Principal, Ian Walker CEO, and Dylan Fletcher steers.

One to watch: INEOS and Athena are in a High Court dispute over the ex-INEOS Britannia AC75, unresolved as of October 2026 with settlement talks reported in late September. GB1 is refitting its boat in Genoa; which hull it races in Naples, we cannot tell you yet.

Seven AC75 teams — the Defender plus six challengers — are the largest field since Valencia 2007. Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, on its seventh campaign, challenges through a Neapolitan club, the Circolo del Remo e della Vela Italia. Burling joined on 20 June 2025, sharing the helm in 2026 with Ruggero Tita and then Marco Gradoni; the team trains in Cagliari until mid-January 2027, then moves to Naples.

Tudor Team Alinghi is the Swiss entry: Alinghi Red Bull Racing withdrew on 19 April 2025 and returned in late December 2025 under a new name, now backed by Tudor, with Paul Goodison as skipper. La Roche-Posay Racing Team is the French challenge — the K-Challenge group, called Orient Express Racing Team until 17 March 2026 — skippered by Quentin Delapierre; its AC75 was the first to reach Bagnoli, by barge from Lorient on 24 September 2026.

American Racing Challenger Team USA, backed by Sail Newport, was confirmed on 8 April 2026 under CEO Ken Read with American Magic's old AC75, Patriot. Team Australia, from Sydney, was the last in on 14 May 2026, with Tom Slingsby skipper and Grant Simmer CEO; they bought Te Rehutai, the 2021 winner, have not yet raced a preliminary and, according to Simmer, plan to reach Naples in early February 2027 and sail from early March — dates not yet confirmed. NYYC American Magic itself is not entered this time.

Two preliminaries have been raced so far, both in the smaller AC40s, neither counting towards 2027. In Cagliari on 22–24 May 2026, Luna Rossa with Burling and Tita beat New Zealand by 33 seconds in the match final.

Then Naples, 25–27 September 2026: nine AC40s from six teams on the 2027 course. Luna Rossa, now with Burling and Gradoni, won four of the eight fleet races and the series 71 points to 56, then beat New Zealand again in the match final by 17 seconds. La Roche-Posay was third despite two capsizes, Team USA fourth, Tudor Team Alinghi seventh and GB1 eighth of nine. Official attendance was 278,893, and from Via Caracciolo it felt like more.

As of October 2026 no further preliminary has been announced; ACP CEO Marzio Perrelli said at the Genoa Boat Show on 4 October that the focus is now the teams' arrival in Bagnoli from January. If one is held in 2027, its points would carry into the Louis Vuitton Cup.

Most of the racing is the Louis Vuitton Cup, not the Match. According to the planned calendar published in September 2026, which includes reserve days and may change, it opens on 22–23 May 2027 with an AC75 fleet-racing weekend, then a triple round robin from 26 May to 11 June, a repechage on 12–13 June, semi-finals on 16–20 June and a Final from 26 June to 4 July. The Youth America's Cup runs 2–6 June, the Women's 5–9 July, and the Match starts on 10 July and, depending on the scoreline, ends by 19 July (America's Cup Partnership, 28 September 2026).

An AC75 is a monohull that lifts clear of the water on hydrofoils; five sailors are aboard, at least one a woman, plus a guest racer. The course sits directly off the Lungomare Caracciolo, between Castel dell'Ovo and Posillipo, with racing planned from 14:00; the seafront is the closest view.

In 2026 the Lungomare and Race Village were free and are expected to remain so, but as of October 2026 no ticketing, grandstand or hospitality prices or on-sale dates have been published — check americascup.com. The team bases and a free AC Tech FanZone with big screens are at Bagnoli, about 10 km west, for dock-outs rather than live racing; they are due to be completed over winter 2026–27, with teams expected from January 2027.

On screen, RAI carries it free-to-air, Sky Sport and NOW on pay-TV, and the America's Cup YouTube channel streams it where domestic rights allow. A note from us at Vesuview, based here: during the September 2026 preliminary, Naples hotels were reported close to sold out (Federalberghi Napoli), so if you are planning your 2027 stay, start early.