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Alinghi accept NZ challenge
26/07/2007 12:31 - (SA)
Madrid - Team New Zealand, who lost the America's Cup match against Alinghi this month, challenged the Swiss syndicate on Wednesday for another chance to win back sailing's most prestigious prize.
Team New Zealand put up one of the best fights for the America's Cup in more than two decades but eventually lost 5-2, the second time in a row they have lost the "Auld Mug" to Alinghi. They won the America's Cup in 1995 and 2000.
"We welcome Team New Zealand back to this event. Alinghi are looking forward to racing them again," said Alinghi president Ernesto Bertarelli.
Team New Zealand are the fourth team to be accepted as challengers for the 33rd America's Cup, which will be raced in Valencia in 2009, joining Desafio Espanol, British Team Origin and South African Shosholoza.
Alinghi have rejected a challenge from Oracle Racing, who are taking the Swiss to court over the regatta guidelines they set with a new club set up to house Desafio Espanol.
Bertarelli criticised the suit brought by Oracle's home club GGYC and their owner, software billionaire Larry Ellison.
"Unfortunately, having failed to win on the water and putting in the worst ever performance by an American team, it seems Larry Ellison has decided to win the battle in court," Bertarelli said via telephone.
Ellison's team, called BMW Oracle for the 32nd America's Cup, was knocked out in the semi-finals of the challenger selection series this year in a 5-1 rout by Italy's Luna Rossa.
Ellison has particularly challenged the fact that Alinghi could unilaterally set the rules governing how a new class of boat is built, that they could choose the umpires and could throw any challenger out of contention at any time.
Bertarelli announced on Wednesday that the class rule would be decided with all the accepted challengers by the end of October. He also said Alinghi had no intention of throwing any competitor out of the Cup regattas.
Bertarelli expected the New York supreme court to hand the law case to a sporting authority and said an America's Cup arbitration panel had already been set up and was looking at the case.
"He's holding the Cup hostage," Bertarelli said. "He's created a tremendous uncertainty which is holding competitors back from getting sponsors."
"Larry seems to think he can buy the Cup in court. No, you've got to fight, my friend. You've got to win it with sailors, not with lawyers."
- Reuters
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