BMW ORACLE Racing’s Teams gear up for Cowes

by Jane Eagleson, BMW Oracle Racing Media on 27 Jul 2008
BMW ORACLE Racing will begin training in Cowes next week in preparation for the highly competitive iShares Cup at Skandia Cowes Week 2-4 August where the team is fielding two entries –Team Spithill and Team Cammas.

Spithill will helm with John Kostecki (USA), tactician/traveler; Dirk de Ridder (NED), trim/grind; and Alan Smith (NZL); trim/grind. Multihull consultant Franck Cammas (FRA) will also helm one of the team’s two Extreme 40s. His crew will include Thierry Fouchier (FRA), tactician/traveler; Joe Newton (AUS); trim/grind; and Simeon Tienpont (NED); trim/grind. BMW ORACLE Racing skipper Russell Coutts (NZL) and design coordinator Mike Drummond (NZL) will be coaching the two crews in Cowes.

'This will be a perfect regatta for pushing our learning curve on multihull racing,' Spithill said.

'It will be a very competitive fleet so I am sure we will be pushed hard. This is a great event and a great chance to keep preparing while we wait for our new America’s Cup boat.'

After a tough start in the Extreme 40s when one of the boats capsized in an exciting in-house match race in May, two BMW ORACLE Racing crews competed 20-22 June at the 'Just the Best' regatta in Italy where Spithill and Coutts faced off in the Extreme 40s with Spithill’s team earning the regatta victory.

June also provided plenty of multihull sailing for the team. Cammas, with a team including sailing coordinator Julien di Biase (SUI) as tactician, won the prestigious Bol d’Or Mirabaud sailing the Decision 35 catamaran Zebra 7 Girard- Perregaux. Following a June training session on the 60-foot Groupama 2, sailing team member Alberto Barovier (ITA) joined Cammas and crew as bowman on the trimaran to win the ORMA class in the Trophy SNSM.

In July, Cammas placed second in the 66-boat gold fleet of the F18 World Championships, his debut in this competitive catamaran class.

BMW ORACLE Racing is the Challenger of Record for the 33rd America’s Cup, representing the USA’s Golden Gate Yacht Club of San Francisco. The team is preparing for a one-on-one match in multihulls against Swiss Defender, Team Alinghi.

A New York court is expected to confirm the date for the two-out-of-three match to takeplace soon with the venue to be nominated by the defender. BMW ORACLE Racing is based in Valencia, Spain. The team’s multihull race yacht for the 33rd America’s Cup is under construction in Anacortes, WA, USA.