America's Cup: Butterworth given a grilling on Breakfast TV
by Sail-World.com/nz 30 Oct 2020 05:51 PDT
31 October 2020
Emirates Team New Zealand and American Magic - Stadium Course - Waitemata Harbour - September 21, 2020 © Richard Gladwell / Sail-World.com
Four time America's Cup winner, Brad Butterworth, appeared on The AM Show on Friday morning and was grilled on the current stand-off in the America's Cup.
Formerly a tactician for Team New Zealand and Alinghi, Butterworth is now calling the shots ashore for the Challenger of Record organisation COR36.
Just two weeks out of serving his quarantine, Butterworth fronted for COR36 when the controversial Arbitration Panel decision was announced which removed the two Stadium courses from the 36th America's Cup, robbing Kiwi fans of the opportunity to view the AC75's racing within easy view of the shore.
Responding to calls by the Mayor of Auckland for him to get together with Emirates Team New Zealand's Grant Dalton and sort out the issue, Butterworth said the Council owned the Port company and that maybe the Mayor should be the one responsible for sorting out the issue. [It was the Ports of Auckland who suggested blocking the Challengers from using the two courses during the Round Robin and Semi-Finals from Courses B & C.]
The interview covered a lot of ground including asking him to pick a winner. He declined to pick the top Challenger, saying it was "too raw" to make a call at this stage. However he did pick Emirates Team NZ to go with history and successfully defend the Cup on its first defence.