The war of words between Bertarelli and Ellison is getting increasingly personal this week in Valencia.

On Tuesday, Ellison said he met other America's Cup teams in Valencia and they had agreed on certain elements of how the next regatta should be run, including rules on how the new, longer America's Cup class boats should be built.

"There was pretty broad agreement among the challengers," Ellison told reporters on a conference call. "The outcome we'd like is to negotiate a reasonable protocol with Alinghi. Nobody wants it to go to court".

Ellison particularly contested rules that would allow Alinghi to throw any team out of the event, choose the umpires, race the challengers and decide how to build the new America's Cup boats.

"Right now, we don't think any team has any chance of winning other than Alinghi," the software magnate added. "We believe Alinghi have been designing their new boat for several months while we can't start until Alinghi tell us what the class rule is".

Answering to these attacks, Alinghi president Ernesto Bertarelli had some strong words yersterday for Larry Ellison and BMW Oracle Racing.

"Team Alinghi is not interested in Larry Ellison's multihull race," he said. "Not interested. We're sportsmen, not lawyers. We're sailors, not corporate raiders. What we'd like to do is go sailing and fortunately I've found a few teams to go sailing with. I don't need Larry Ellison's lawsuit in New York".

"Today is a day of talking about sports, talking about friendship, talking about trust and committmemt to a fantastic event that does not need this kind of, excuse the expression, bullshit."

Ellison's action in the New York court against the Swiss was "unacceptable", said Bertarelli. He is "clearly damaging the America's Cup''.

"It is a shame that having failed to win the America's Cup twice on the water, and having barely managed to avoid finishing fifth in the last challenger trials, he now wants to win it in a court of law," Bertarelli said.

The American complaint is looking increasingly isolated as Team New Zealand became the fourth challenger who felt able to sign up for the next Cup despite the contentious Protocol signed between the Swiss and Spanish. TNZ joins Desafio, South Africa's Shosholoza and Britain's Origin teams.

The other syndicates hoping to compete have called for more information and are meanwhile awaiting developments regarding the BMW Oracle court action and the proposed new protocol.

"We want to see more, there are too many uncertainties," said Bert Willborg, spokesman of Swedish syndicate Victory Challenge. "We are in discussion with our sponsors. We are not entirely happy with the changes in the protocol."

Contacted by AFP, French team Areva would not confirm their ambitions for 2009 as Italian syndicate Luna Rossa and United Internet Team Germany said the challenge will get done in time.

"It will be in a few weeks," a spokesman for the Germans said.

Italian teams Mascalzone Latino and +39 Challenge, and China Team have not commented although organisers are hoping new names will emerge from Brasil, Malaysia, Russia, Australia or Dubai.