Luna Rossa Challenge's Patrizio Bertelli sought to backtrack yesterday after getting hardly attacked by local politicians for his declaration about Valencia, claiming her words had been misinterpreted.

Last week, he triggered a firestorm in Valencia when he criticised the choice of Valencia as the stage for this year's event saying "We don't feel a love of sailing in Valencia."

In an attempt to stop the fire, he sent a letter to Rita Barberá, the Mayor of Valencia, expressing his regrets, adding that both he and his syndicate considered Valencia ‘as a perfect city, a perfect public and a perfect site’ for the Cup races.

On top of that, Mr. Bertelli also thanked the Town Hall for all the support the syndicate had received whilst in Valencia.

Meanwhile, Tom Leweck's Scuttlebutt published yesterday a statement from James Spithill denying that the informations published about match racing events reflect his opinion.