Coutts: They’re all quality teams
Posted on 06 February 2012
In an interview with radio journalist Peter Montgomery of Newstalk ZB in New Zealand, ORACLE Racing CEO Russell Coutts addressed the possibility of more teams entering the 34th America’s Cup.
“We don’t know how many challengers will go through at this point. I believe there are other teams that would feel it wrong if I were to pronounce that they aren’t going to make it. There are 10 teams out there now, and we’ll see. I don’t expect all of them to make it to the final series, but in a way that was one of the points of the America’s Cup World Series, to provide a platform where teams could build some value and create long-term to compete in the bigger series.
“The teams that are currently building AC72’s, they’re all quality teams. Even if it turned out that there are only four teams in San Francisco – I don’t think that’ll be the case – but if it does turn out that way it’ll still be a fantastic event and as competitive as any America’s Cup that I’ve been involved with.
“Sure there’ve been more teams in the past, but did a lot of them have a chance to win? Probably not. Whereas the teams building 72s right now (ORACLE Racing, Artemis Racing, Emirates Team New Zealand, Luna Rossa Challenge), you’d be bold to suggest that any one of them didn’t have a chance of winning it.”
Listen to the interview: Peter Montgomery interviews Russell Coutts