Former Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker has signed with Japanese America's Cup challenger Softbank Team Japan.
Dean Barker. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
In February Baker was replaced as Team New Zealand's helmsman by New Zealand's Peter Burling and Australia Glenn Ashby.
He officially left the team in March after turning down a sailing coach and performance manager position.
SoftBank Team Japan was only confirmed as a challenger earlier this month and Barker said the new role provided a chance to build a new team from the ground up.
Barker has a busy time ahead as he tries to recruit a team to race at the first America's Cup World Series event in Portsmouth in July.
"We're filling the key roles on the team as quickly as we can. I think we're pulling together a very strong team. We want to compete at the head of the fleet and we're assembling a team that is capable of doing that. Our goal is to win the America's Cup," Barker said.
Dean Barker in the America's Cup:
- 1995 - trains with Team New Zealand
- 2000 - America's Cup winner with Team New Zealand, helming the deciding race
- 2003 - skipper, unsuccessful defence of America's Cup with Team New Zealand
- 2007 - skipper, winner, Louis Vuitton Cup
- 2013 - skipper, winner, Louis Vuitton Cup
