The GBR Challenge team were absent from the opening of the America's Cup regatta in Marseille yesterday but the team are on the cusp of securing sponsorship for the 2007 event.

GBR sources say that a title sponsorship deal, likely to be in excess of £15 million, will be signed at a meeting tomorrow. A formal announcement could be made within a week.

The funds will come from one of four companies GBR have been courting for nearly a year. They are two high street banks, an oil company, and a United States-based corporation.