USA 87 to race in Act 13

by BMW Oracle Racing media on 2 Apr 2007 The 2007 America’s Cup racing season starts tomorrow as the last of the 13 Louis Vuitton preliminary regattas gets underway with a spectacular series of fleet races. As well as being the season opener, Act 13 also forms the curtain raiser to the 32nd America’s Cup.

'We are looking forward to getting back to full-on racing again,' said BMW ORACLE Racing skipper and CEO, Chris Dickson. 'We have been hard at it racing USA 87 and USA 98 in-house and now we are keen to check in with our competitors.'

Following yesterday’s keel unveiling, which drew huge crowds to the bases at the Port America’s Cup, the teams today announced which yachts they will sail in the fleet races. BMW ORACLE Racing will race with USA 87 rather than their newer race yacht USA 98. 'Early performance shows that USA 98 is a good boat,' Dickson said. 'We intend to sail USA 98 in the Louis Vuitton Cup, so we will take the opportunity of Act 13 to continue preparing her in-house for that.
'Meanwhile USA 87 is like a new boat. After winter modifications, she is fast, but still in development and racing is a great way to get the best out of USA 87.'

At the skippers’ media conference today, Dickson complimented the rest of the fleet for the state of preparation and innovation. Following the unveiling, he said: 'What I see out there is a harbour full of very competitive America’s Cup yachts. The standard is higher than ever before.'

As the curtain raiser to the main events of 2007 – the Louis Vuitton Cup and the America’s Cup – Act 13 provides a last opportunity for teams to check performance against each other. It is also the last opportunity for the challengers to improve their rankings, which affects the bonus points they carry forward into the Louis Vuitton Cup.

Currently, Emirates Team New Zealand tops the rankings, but BMW ORACLE Racing is only 2 points back. With Act 13 counting triple points, less than one place separates the two teams.

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