World Yacht Racing Forum, parlando di Coppa America
AlinghiAmerica's CupOracle Team USAVela 15 Dicembre 2009 Zerogradinord 0
[singlepic id=4782 w=300 h=204 float=left]World Yacht Racing Forum – Monaco – Dopo due anni di battaglia legale, lo skipper di Alinghi, Brad Butterworth, e il CEO di BMW Oracle Racing, Russell Coutts, hanno discusso pubblicamente di Coppa America in chiusura della seconda edizione del World Yacht Racing Forum. Sia Coutts che Butterworth hanno espresso il loro punto di vista sui diritti e doveri di chellenger e defender prima di essere raggiunti da altri potenziali sfidanti.
Coutts ha dichiarato che qualora fossero gli statunitensi a vincere la Coppa, questi proporrebbero un mangement neutrale che curi la gestione della 34ma America’s Cup: “Il primo passo da fare per assicurare alla Coppa un futuro sano è quello di rendere l’evento indipendente. So che questo è un punto di vista condiviso anche da Larry Ellison, che aveva già espresso questa opinione in passato. La prossima Coppa si dovrà disputare secondo i canoni della neutralità, del fair play e con il mutuo consenso tra sfidenti e defender”.
Butterworth ha invece ribadito che in mancanza di mutuo consenso le regole sono fissate dallo yacht club defender e ha difeso la scelta di Ras al Khaimah come sede della 33ma America’s Cup: “Noi siamo pronti a regatare l’8 febbraio tanto a Valencia quanto a Ras al Khaimah. L’unica speranza che ho riguarda il fatto che chiunque sarà sconfitto lascerà il vincitore libero di agire, senza promuovere nuove azioni legali”. Butterworth, che ha detto di preferire i multiscafi ai monoscafi, ha poi proseguito affermando che in caso di vittoria Alinghi si confronterebbe con gli sfidanti e con loro deciderebbe il formato della 34ma Coppa America e le barche da utilizzare.
Un parere ripreso da Coutts, che ha sottolineato l’altissima tecnologia impiegata nella costruzione dei multiscafi: “Credo che tra cento anni gli appassionati guarderanno a BOR 90 e Alinghi 5 nello stesso modo in cui noi oggi guardiamo Reliance e Shamrock: ovvero come a due pietre miliari nella storia dell’America’s Cup”.
A raggiungere Coutts e Butterworth sono stati Nicolo Bastianini (GreenComm), Paul Cayard, Magnus Holmberg (Victory Challenge), Stephane Kandler (All4One), Sotiris Buseas (Greek Challenge) e Marcus Hutchinson (Team Origin) che hanno fermamente sostenuto come la nuove classe Coppa America debba essere scelta sulla base del mutuo consenso e come debba essere nominato un ente indipendente che si occupi dell’organizzazione dell’evento. Brad Butterworth ha risposto sottolineando la difficile realizzazione di un progetto del genere, vista la grande complessità della manifestazione.
A prendere la parola è quindi stato Paul Cayard che ha esortato gli sfidanti a riunirsi e a tracciare le linee guida di un Protocollo per la 34ma America’s Cup: “Abbiamo un’occasione unica visto che ne Alinghi ne BMW Oracle racing hanno la certezza di avere in mano l’organizzazione della 34ma edizione. E’ questo il momento di lavorare alla creazione di un Panel indipendente: entrambi, infatti, si potrebbero ritrovare dalla paret degli sfidanti e sarebbero senza dubbio contenti di poter investire su un evento equo e ben organizzato”.
WORLD YACHT RACING FORUM, LIGHT ON FUTURE OF THE AMERICA’S CUP
[World Yacht Racing Forum Press Release] Following over two years of legal disputes regarding the format of the next America’s Cup in the New York Supreme Court, Russell Coutts (CEO, BMW Oracle Racing) and Brad Butterworth (President, Alinghi), spoke together publically for the first time during last week’s World Yacht Racing Forum in Monaco.
Both Coutts and Butterworth gave individual presentations on their respective Challenge and Defence before joining several potential challengers to discuss the future, shape and options for the 34th America’s Cup.
Presenting first, Coutts told the audience that if the U.S. were to win the Cup, it would propose establishing professional and neutral management for future AC events. “The first step to a healthier future has to be truly independent management of the sporting issues. I believe this as does Larry Ellison, who has made a public pledge to have professional and independent management if BMW Oracle is successful. The next America’s Cup must be guided by the principles of neutrality, fairness and mutual consent between the Defender and challengers”, he said.
Butterworth followed and repeated his organizations claim that the rules and venue for the Cup matches must be set by the defending yacht club when there is no mutual consent, with the challenger setting the date and the boat. He continued to defend Ras Al Kaimah as the venue for the February or May 2010 match pending the decision by the New York Court on Société Nautique de Genève’s appeal. “We will be ready to race on 8 February 2010 whether the race is in Valencia or in Ras Al Khaimah”, he said. Coutts replied that his team “will be ready to race on 8 February 2010 in Valencia but would have to look carefully at the transport and logistics issues in case a different venue is chosen.”
Butterworth concluded his presentation with a wish: “I would hope that whoever loses is magnanimous and stands aside to allow the new defender and the challengers to move forward unfettered by lawsuits.”
Talking about the extraordinary performances of the multihulls built for this special edition of the Cup, the Alinghi President outlined his team’s vision of the future saying that he would love to have a multi-national, multi-challenge 34th America’s Cup. “If we are fortunate enough to win the 33rd match we would like to discuss the type of boat with the challengers.” Butterworth added he did favour multihulls over monohulls, which later triggered an interesting debate between potential challengers.
Both Coutts and Butterworth described their enthusiasm for the giant multi-hulls they are testing, Coutts calling his boat “a triumph of imagination, design and engineering.” He also paid tribute to Alinghi‘s catamaran. “I think in another 100 years, people might look back and see the BOR 90 and Alinghi 5 in the same way we now look at Reliance and Shamrock – as two of the most extreme Cup yachts of all time and landmarks in the Cup’s rich history,” he said.
Nicolo Bastianini (GreenComm), Paul Cayard, Magnus Holmberg (Victory Challenge), Stephane Kandler (All4One), Sotiris Buseas (Greek Challenge) and Marcus Hutchinson (Team Origin) then joined Coutts and Butterworth on stage for a debate about the future of the event after AC 33. A point often repeated was that the class of boat should be something the majority of the challenging teams support.
Talking on behalf of their respective teams, all panellists expressed clear – yet solvable – differences regarding the format, dates and type of boat to use for the next edition of the regatta. On the other hand all panellists agreed that an independent management was necessary, Brad Butterworth reminding his colleagues that its establishment would be difficult due to the complexity of the event.
Led by Paul Cayard, the speakers then unanimously endorsed the idea to rapidly create an official group of challengers and to start working concretely, together, on a Protocol for the next America’s Cup. “We have a unique opportunity right now”, Cayard wrote after the Forum. “Neither Alinghi and BMW Oracle knows who will be holding the cards for the 34th America’s Cup. So this is a time where each may be more willing to agree to a “fair and independent” event management structure. Either could find themselves on the Challenger side for 34th America’s Cup and that party would certainly want a modern and objective event organization.”
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