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Two more teams have joined the race for the 33rd America’s Cup with a record 20 entrants expected by a deadline of next Monday set by two-time defending champion Alinghi.
A first entry from Russia and a fifth from Italy made it 16 competitors meeting on Friday at Alinghi’s home club in Geneva to continue drawing up rules for a regatta they hope will happen in 2010. Four more syndicates are attempting to sign up.
The entry list won’t include San Francisco-based BMW Oracle Racing, which has rejected calls to join the process and drop a law suit against Alinghi for what it says were the Swiss team’s unfair practices in setting the race rules.
The 16 entrants – from 11 nations but none from the United States – issued a joint statement once more appealing to their American rivals to join them.
“We disagree with BMW Oracle’s legal strategy and still hope that they will choose to enter the 33rd America’s Cup before Monday’s deadline,” the statement said.
Golden Gate Yacht Club, BMW Oracle’s home base, has been fighting Alinghi in court for more than a year because it believes the rules proposed for the 33rd Cup were written to favour the defender.
The 16 teams said on Friday they had agreed major changes to the original race rules which upset BMW Oracle. A new version will be published next week.
Talks will continue in Valencia in January to decide the class of boat that will be used. The class rule is scheduled to be agreed by the end of the month with boats potentially ready to race early in 2010.
The teams agreed to compete in three regattas in July, October and November 2009 using existing America’s Cup boats.
“We’ve had a productive session,” Alinghi skipper Brad Butterworth said.
“We’ve come close to consensus. The sailing world wants to get on with the sailing.”
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