15 Feb 2010

Team NZ eager to know America's Cup details

10:41 pm on 15 February 2010

New Zealand's America's Cup challenger is looking forward to a more certain future after BMW Oracle won the 33rd contest for the cup off Valencia.

The American team comfortably beat Swiss defender Alinghi 2-0 in the best-of-three series on Sunday.

The victory ends years of court battles which sidelined all other teams and culminated in a one-on-one duel in multihull yachts.

BMW Oracle may announce details of the 34th America's Cup as early as Tuesday.

Team New Zealand operations manager Kevin Shoebridge says they are ready to mount a new campaign and look forward to some details about the next regatta.

"For us, it would be nice to know what year they're thinking of and what their broad plan is ... obviously the type of yacht will then determine when your team snaps into action."

BMW Oracle, owned by software mogul Larry Ellison, becomes the first American team to win the trophy for 18 years.

Alinghi had been flying a protest flag during the race, meaning the result was provisional until the complaint was heard. An Alinghi spokesman said later it had been withdrawn.

The 2010 event came after more than two years of often bitter legal wrangles between Ellison and Alinghi's backer, banking and biotechnology billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli, over America's Cup rules.

Ellison's team considered unfair rules were being imposed by the Swiss.