Team NZ taunts mercenaries of USA
TEAM New Zealand ace Peter Burling has slapped Jimmy Spithill and his ‘‘Americans’’ in the face with the nationality card.
Burling has talked up the national pride involved in his syndicate.
It was a clever ploy by Burling and one that might strike fear into more than just Oracle Team USA if the Kiwis can win back the America’s Cup.
One of the first rules they would look to change would be to do with crew makeup after the bulk of their opponents in Bermuda were dominated by foreign mercenaries.
Oracle are full of Australians, headed by Spithill, as billionaire backer Larry Ellison waved his chequebook to win and retain the Auld Mug.
In helping create Team Japan, Oracle saw the Asian syndicate flooded by unwanted Kiwis headed by Dean Barker.
Team New Zealand have an Aussie skipper themselves in Glenn Ashby.
But their crew makeup is largely New Zealanders, a fact they continually emphasise, and one they would like to formalise in the rules book.
‘‘The fans back home are unbelievable. It just makes us proud to be New Zealanders and representing a country that I’ve grown up in, really enjoyed sailing in, I love living there and all it has to offer,’’ Burling said, a dig that wouldn’t have been lost on Spithill.
‘‘To be here sailing for that country and with them behind us, it just gives us extra motivation to be pushing forward.
‘‘It just keeps exciting us and pushing it forward, that’s what it’s all about – trying to bring it back for those guys. It’s amazing, overwhelming.
‘‘For myself as a Kiwi, being able to race for your country and bring that America’s Cup back to your country.
‘‘That’s something that inspires everyone in our team. We are a really tight team.’’
Team New Zealand, if they can regain the Cup and all the power that comes with it, are also likely to take the nationality theme further and push for more country of origin design and build work with the boats.
At the moment, Kiwi boatbuilding ingenuity has propped up both Oracle and Team Japan at this 35th edition of the Cup.
The Kiwis are out of favour with all five of their rivals in Bermuda, and those syndicates live in fear, having already signed an agreement amongst themselves looking to expand the world series, retain the catamaran class, and make the America’s Cup a biennial affair.
Team New Zealand want a return to traditions that could even include modern monohulls being used.
They would install sidelined Italian syndicate Luna Rossa as the challenger of record, and overhaul the system again.
Sir Ben Ainslie, who headed Britain’s return to Cup action this year, admitted they were in ‘‘a holding pattern’’ now that Team New Zealand are in the Cup match against Oracle.
‘‘That is because New Zealand have not signed up to the framework agreement which the other five teams signed up to earlier this year,’’ Ainslie wrote in a column for Britain’s Telegraph newspaper yesterday.
‘‘If Oracle Team USA win the 35th Cup, that is what we will be doing for the foreseeable future.’’