Sunday, October 21, 2007

All screwed up

The 2009 America's Cup may be in jeopardy after Alinghi refused to settle a row with rival BMW Oracle yesterday, sending the case into a potentially drawn-out court battle.

The standoff between the teams and their billionaire owners has dragged on since Alinghi won the America's Cup in July and set rules for the next one which BMW Oracle argued were unfairly slanted in the Swiss team's favour.

Both sides have taken conciliatory steps but Alinghi eventually rejected BMW Oracle's proposal to resolve the wrangle and to publish the rules governing the design of the new high-tech boats.
"This is a simple question of transparency," said Tom Ehman, a spokesman for BMW Oracle, bankrolled by software mogul Larry Ellison.

"In this light it lacks credibility for [Alinghi] to blame anyone other than themselves for the ongoing delay and any decision to postpone the next event."

If you really care to read the rest you can at http://www.nzherald.co.nz/