By Greg Pearson
The next America's Cup is now 18 months away, but could it already be turning into a bit of a non-event?
So far just four syndicates, including holders Oracle, and Team New Zealand have signed on to compete in San Francisco for the cup.
Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton says it is not difficult to work out why so few have entered the new look competition.
“It is 100 percent that it is too expensive, way too expensive,” says Dalton.
His comments come after three-time Olympic champion, Ben Ainslie, announced plans for a new team on the World Series circuit.
The new team, however, will not be taking part in the next cup challenge.
“It’s just not realistic in the time frame that we have, in terms of putting the team together and designing and building,” says Ainslie, who will instead help Oracle defend the cup.
Oracle's sweeping changes to the cup were meant to make it more appealing and affordable to new teams but that promise is falling well short, with only Team New Zealand, Luna Rossa and Sweden's Artemis Racing lining up for this year’s challenge.
And Ainslie's decision not to compete does not bode well for any new entries.
Dalton says he is not surprised.
“I said about a year ago that I didn’t think there would be many teams. Oracle’s promise of making it cheaper was nothing more than a hollow publicity statement from a billionaire. It was never going to be cheaper,” says Dalton.
And while the cup will not be dead in the water, with just four teams it could lose some of the lustre of previous regattas.
Despite the lack of competition, Team New Zealand are well on course for San Francisco with the launch of their AC-72 scheduled for July.
Though how many teams they will be racing against remains to be seen.
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