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Larry Ellison and Russell Coutts - Source: Reuters -
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New America's Cup holders BMW Oracle promised on Tuesday the next event would have fair rules for all competitors and independent officials, the day after the US team won a regatta blighted by long legal battles.
BMW Oracle chief executive Russell Coutts - who has never lost in 17 America's Cup races - confirmed Italians Mascalzone Latino would be the Challenger of Record for the 34th America's Cup, the team that will represent all other challengers.
Mascalzone Latino competed in the challengers series for the 2003 and 2007 America's Cups and are owned by colourful Italian shipping magnate Vincenzo Onorato, a close friend of BMW Oracle head Larry Ellison.
With Cup holders setting terms in consultation with the Challenger of Record under a 19th century "Deed of Gift", Coutts said Onorato also favoured independent event management and race officials but no official race "protocol" had been signed yet.
"I think that is an important step for all competitors and sponsors so they know it will be a fair competition for all," he said a day after BMW Oracle beat Swiss holders Alinghi 2-0.
"One of the ways is by having mutually elected people."
The 33rd America's Cup was overshadowed by more than two years of bitter legal wrangling between software mogul Ellison and biotechnology billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli's Alinghi.
The battles over the hosting rights and race rules resulted in a rare two-boat match without the usual challengers series that had helped increase interest in recent years and attracted new teams like China and South Africa.
That cost the event millions of dollars in potential sponsorship and broadcasting rights. Alinghi has admitted the legal fights were a backward step and Ellison's co-sponsor, German carmaker BMW, has described their effect as a disaster.
Coutts and Ellison have both promised the 34th America's Cup will have more than two teams.
"Whilst we celebrate the past and a great victory, it's probably more important to start looking forward," said Coutts.
Coutts added there would be challengers representing a number of countries and that he was also open to the idea of selection trials for the defenders, not seen since 1995. "I think we'd have no problem with having defender trials as they used to," he said.
Questions like venues and dates have not been addressed yet.
Ellison's native San Francisco would be a natural choice if sufficient space and infrastructure are available but there are other possibilities in the United States and elsewhere.
Spectacular Racing
The legal battles also resulted in two giant multi-hull yachts racing for the first time, offering spectacular racing but limiting the conditions in which the fragile boats could race and leading to long, frustrating delays.
No decision had been made on whether the multi-million dollar multi-hulls would race again or more traditional America's Cup class sloops, which would open the field to a wider variety of competitors and racing conditions, Coutts said.
Coutts sat with three fellow New Zealanders and an Australian under a giant US flag at a media conference for the US team and bristled slightly at a question about team nationalities.
"Personally I would not rule out discussion on a nationality rule, at least partially with the crew," said Coutts, who has won the America's Cup with New Zealand, Alinghi and now BMW Oracle.
