Charly Linnemann, general representative for Bavaria Yachts in Spain, has posted an announcement on his Bavaria-Racing.com website to the effect that Karol Jablonski has added German match racer Markus Wieser as a tactician on the team's new Bavaria Match 42.

The rumour mill has Wieser in negotiations with the Toscana Challenge, for whom Jablonski is under contract. Jablonski and Wieser have plenty of experience sailing together, including a number of Thomas Friese' MK Café teams, most notably the Sydney 40 team in the 1999 Admiral's Cup.

Once a regular (and formidable) competitor on the Swedish Match Tour, Wieser now competes infrequently in high level match racing.

Within the framework of the International Tourism Exchange 'Bit' in Milan, Gualtiero Pantani et Roberto Ferraresi, respectively President and Team manager of the new Italian Team, should say more about the Toscana Challenge.

They should in particular give information about the financial commitments of the the toscana region.

Poland’s Karol Jablonski, the current ISAF Match Racing World champion (since 1999), confirmed that he had just signed up to skipper Italian's Toscana Challenge. He will come in Italy with his usual fellow board members.

"In the recent races, we regularly reach the final stages and defeated the America's Cup stars", he said. "Our third place in the Match Racing World Championship on lake Garda gave us a big credibility in Italy and accelerated our contact".

According to the Polish match racer, a €90 million budget is provided by four title sponsors and several Toscan companies which each paid 100,000 euros.

More, Karol Jablonski confirmed his new team had bought the two former Conner's Stars & Stripes and is in discussion with Terry Hutchinson and renowned designers Reichel/Pugh of San Diego, California.

"The idea is to build a team without 'big names' but who battle hard", Jablonski explained. "Gualtiero Pantani wants people who are still hungry, people with a great potential for success".

"For me and my fellow board members, it's an unique opportunity", he said. "we will have to work hard and fight to get good results".

The Italian sports' daily "Gazzetta dello Sport" reported last week that a new Italian syndicate is borning and suggested that this new team has bought one of the 2002 Stars & Stripes and want to recruit Poland’s match racing ace Karol Jablonski as skipper.

More details have been released concerning the Team led by Gualtiero Pantani, an Italian businessman.

The syndicate, christened "Toscana Challenge", would sail under the Yacht Club Livorno's burgee and would have recruited former Stars & Stripes tactician (and AmericaOne trimmer) Terry Hutchinson and Poland’s Karol Jablonski, who was hoping to put together a Polish campaign but commented on Thursday that this project would not now come to fruition.

With the probable demise of the Prada AC program and with the merger rumors about Team NZ and Mascalzone, there is some dock talk concerning a new Italian effort.

According to Italian sports' daily "Gazzetta dello Sport", the Italian businessman Gualtiero Pantani has bought one of the 2002 Stars & Stripes and want to recruit Poland’s match racing ace Karol Jablonski as skipper.

Rumors suggesting Jablonski may be re-thinking his participation in the Polish challenge but have been refuted by later reports.

Gualtieron Pantani, however, denies the information published by the Italian sports' daily and says he is just involved in a group of businessmen who are planning to launch a new Italian bid for 2007.

The group hasn't officially announced a campaign yet. Pantani says they're in the feasibility stage, exploring whether it would be worthwhile to challenge.