Turin, May 29 (LaPresse) – “When Alinghi Red Bull Racing announced its withdrawal from the selection process for the 38th America’s Cup last April, it did so due to serious concerns about the management and governance of the Cup by Defender Team New Zealand. While we enthusiastically welcome the choice of Naples as the perfect host city for the 2027 America’s Cup, those concerns deepened yesterday when Team New Zealand celebrated the announcement of the host city during an event there. Team New Zealand has no right to do so without first agreeing on a Protocol with the Challenger of Record, Athena Racing, which was not consulted on the choice of venue — a decision that critically affects all challengers in terms of cost and logistics,” reads a statement from Alinghi.
The Swiss sailing team adds: “By signing a commercial agreement with the host city that includes the Challenger Series races for the Louis Vuitton Cup, Team New Zealand has sold something it does not have the rights to. This is unacceptable. Furthermore, the lack of transparency about the terms of the venue agreement reached by Team New Zealand raises a fundamental question: how can a venue be approved when neither the host city nor any of the challenging teams know the race format?” Alinghi concludes: “This is just the latest example of the Defender’s failure to fulfill its fiduciary duties as Trustee of the America’s Cup.”
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