Most astonishing news out of Valencia this afternoon:- Team NZ sailed two full-length practice races against the Alinghi defender. “Astonishing” not in the outcome, but to see a challenger, any challenger, racing the defender this early in the Cup season.

And it will come as no revelation to SA Cup-heads that TNZ “won” both. Even though Alinghi led off the starting line in both. In the first race Alinghi led at the top mark by 20 seconds, then managed to lose the lead to Team NZ on the run, trailing at the gate by :04. TNZ extended their lead up the second beat, and had a 40 second lead at mark 3. TNZ added another 5 seconds to their lead on the final run, “winning” by :45. In the second TNZ got by on the first leg and led comfortably from there.

In the past a challenger breaking ranks to race the defender was only a media stunt, or a pay to play day, pulled by someone like Peter Gilmour when his team needed the additional p.r. or cash after being eliminated.

But for one of the top challengers to do it just before the start of the Louis Vuitton Cup? Tonight the Alinghi boys must be laughing their asses off. Those of us in the media center are left scratching our heads.

Only Alinghi knows the true outcome. If they were slow, they now know it and can work on their weaknesses. If they were fast but sandbagging, again only Alinghi will know - to the detriment of TNZ and all the other challengers who TNZ will be racing during the LV Cup.

How will the other challengers react to this traitorous move? TNZ could be wise not to put their best boat into next week’s Act 13.

Since years TNZ has been trying to get the other challengers to sign a blood oath against racing the defender. So what really happened today? Is TNZ boss Grant Dalton just naïve and inexperienced in the ways of the Cup? Nervous after their long, still unexplained break that his team is not race ready? Bamboozled by Brad Butterworth?

Or should we just follow the money? When Alinghi boss Ernesto Bertarelli lent Mr. Dalton 8 million euros to get his team off the ground four years ago, was the quid pro quo that “B-linghi” (as the other challengers call TNZ) would tune up Alinghi?

Developing…Comments?

03/30/07