As the Swiss challenger Alinghi
crossed the finish line today to win the America's
Cup for the Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), Commodore
Pierre-Yves Firmenich received a formal challenge
for the next Cup from the Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC)
of San Francisco.
GGYC, the club which backed Larry Ellison's Oracle
BMW Racing Team in the 2003 competition, becomes the
"Challenger of Record" for the 32nd America's Cup.
The Challenger of Record negotiates the rules for
the next event with the Defender, representing the
interests of all eventual challengers.
Commodore Pierre Yves Firmenich said, "Société Nautique
de Genève is proud to be taking the Cup event back
to Europe for the first time since 1851. It is a great
honor to have Golden Gate Yacht Club, and Mr. Ellison's
Oracle BMW Racing Team, as partners with our club,
Ernesto Bertarelli and team Alinghi as we go forward
with planning for the next event."
Bill Erkelens, ORACLE BMW Racing's General Manager,
said that the negotiations between SNG and GGYC representatives
had gone smoothly.
"Ernesto Bertarelli and Larry Ellison share the same
vision and values for modernizing the Cup. Everyone
connected with our Club and Oracle BMW are excited
to be working with Societe Nautique de Geneve and
Alinghi as their Challenger of Record."
A press conference will be held on Tuesday, March
4 at the Alinghi Base in Auckland, New Zealand to
announce details of the "Protocol" which describes
the challenge details and other ground rules for the
next America's Cup event. |
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