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Bertarelli helped bankroll Team New Zealand for 2007 |
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America's Cup yachting has been a hot bed of intrigue and drama but the revelation that Alinghi team boss Ernesto Bertarelli has helped bankroll Team New Zealand for 2007 is right up there.
It seems incomprehensible that Bertarelli has loaned reputedly US$10 million to TNZ head Grant Dalton to help its bid to recover the cup when it looms as possibly Alinghi's biggest challenge to retaining the Auld Mug.
It sounds a bit like Ferrari giving one of its Formula One motor racing opponents a leg up. It just would not happen, and nor should it.
Surely Bertarelli does not think TNZ have a chance even with his help. He will look silly in 2007 in Valencia if TNZ take the cup back, especially after he has sacked the best cup skipper around, New Zealander Russell Coutts.
Bertarelli's gesture stems from his long friendship with Dalton, and it was pivotal to TNZ being a starter in Valencia.
Bertarelli was concerned the cup would be a shallow contest without TNZ, and perhaps he is right. He said it would be like soccer's World Cup without Brazil.
However, TNZ have to lift their game several notches above their lame effort in 2003 if they are to be a serious threat to Alinghi. Dalton, who impresses with his direct, cut-to-the-chase approach, has emerged as the man who can do it.
He also appears a straight shooter in a competition where the goal posts have a habit of shifting with bewildering speed as Bertarelli has done in changing the rules to prevent Coutts sailing for anyone else in Valencia.
Dalton has invariably sailed in the shadow of the late Peter Blake, who helped mastermind New Zealand winning the cup twice. Valencia will be Dalton's chance to make a similar impact. That Bertarelli has loaned Dalton such a vast sum reflects hugely on him, and his pledge that the loan will be repaid in three years. The move will not be popular with the other challengers.
Bertarelli's axing of Coutts was interesting given the Kiwi fell out with TNZ after their 2000 victory. The split seemed inevitable after a growing rift, and Bertarelli's relationship with Coutts must have been unworkable given Coutts' sailing reputation.
Bertarelli could yet regret this move. Not surprisingly Coutts was among those struggling to get their heads around Bertarelli's interest-free loan, which will be regarded as one of the more bizarre moments in New Zealand sport.
Dalton has made it clear he is not interested in having the rule change overturned to allow Coutts to become eligible for TNZ despite comments from within New Zealand yachting that he should at least sound out Coutts. He seemingly has his new team singing off the same sheet, and feels the introduction of Coutts would not necessarily be in its best interests after the acrimony surrounding his departure, which divided the country and continues to polarise opinion.
AdvertisementAdvertisementOne still has to question that TNZ are involved at all given the costs that may be as high as NZ$160 million, including $30 million from the New Zealand Government.
It's staggering, offering the detractors more ammunition than ever that the cup is for rich men and their toys, and has become increasingly irrelevant as a result.
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