PRESS RELEASE
AMERICA¹S CUP WINNER ALINGHI
AND CHALLENGER OF RECORD ORACLE BMW RACING TO
COMPETE IN MOËT CUP IN SAN FRANCISCO
JUNE
30, 2003 San Francisco, CA, USA In
the first of a series of America¹s Cup Class
events preceding the next America¹s Cup,
the 2003 winner of sailing¹s most prestigious
prize, ALINGHI, will face off against Challenger
of Record ORACLE BMW Racing this upcoming September
in the MOËT CUP to be held in San Francisco.
The
September 15-20 event will pit the Louis Vuitton
Cup finalists of the 2002-2003 Challenger Races
against each other for the first time on San Francisco
Bay, homeport of ORACLE BMW Racing and its affiliated
yacht club, Golden Gate Yacht Club. The race will
be staged within viewing distance of Pier 39 and
the Marina District with the Golden Gate Bridge
as a backdrop to the magnificent America¹s
Cup Class boats.
ALINGHI
and ORACLE BMW Racing are working together to
improve the 152-year-old competition. The MOËT
CUP is a first step toward making the event more
accessible to the general public and sailing fans
worldwide. For the teams, this highly anticipated
competition provides a training platform and the
opportunity to try out new crew in an authentic
racing environment.
The
MOËT CUP will recapture the drama of America¹s
Cup Class match racing as the teams prepare for
their upcoming campaigns anticipated to take place
in Europe. In the first authentic America¹s
Cup match racing event in the USA since the trophy
was lost to New Zealand in San Diego in 1995,
the teams will go head-to-head in this world-class
competition. The same international umpires who
governed the racing in New Zealand will make instantaneous
calls from patrol boats on the race course to
ensure a fair playing field.
San
Francisco Bay offers an incredible opportunity
to showcase the power and the beauty of the America¹s
Cup with the racing action staged close to shore.
³The
Golden Gate Yacht Club is proud to be involved
with the MOËT CUP. We believe that this event
will afford the general public a rare opportunity
to view high-tech racing coupled with world class
sailing -- something that is typically only seen
on TV,² said Golden Gate Yacht Club Commodore
Ned Barrett. With many America¹s Cup crew
on board, ORACLE BMW Racing, with Gavin Brady
and Chris Dickson, will sail USA 76, and ALINGHI,
with Brad Butterworth and Russell Coutts, will
race SUI 64, the same state-of-the-art boats sailed
in New Zealand earlier this year. ³We encourage
the public to come and view the action first hand,²
continued Barrett.
Moët
& Chandon is the official sponsor of the MOËT
CUP. Event partners include Oracle Corporation,
BMW, Hewlett-Packard, TAG Heuer and Henri Lloyd..
The Golden Gate Yacht Club in partnership with
the Treasure Island Sailing Center will run the
MOËT CUP on-the-water Race Committee.