America's Cup: Dalton pushes out the possibility of the next Cup in 2026
by Richard Gladwell/Todd Ni 11 Sep 2024 14:51 BST
ETNZ CEO Grant Dalton - Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and Emirates Team New Zealand launch brand new Elliott 7 Fleet © James Somerset / Emirates Team New Zealand
In an effort to provide some certainty as to the direction of travel for future America's Cups, the current Defender has floated the Kiwi team's thinking of the future of the event.
For many years New York Yacht Club issued a note outlining the basis on which they would entertain challenges, should they win the Match that was in progress - and when the Club's Defender had some wins on the result board.
However with the French entry exiting on Monday, and two more teams out by next Thursday, or earlier, Dalton explained that even though the winner, and the next Defender had not been decided, it was "opportune now, to let other teams know what we're thinking."
"We need to get this thing moving quickly. We could very possibly have a Cup in 2026. But certainly we would want to roll by early January, next year, with regattas, and get this show back on the road as quick as possible".
In an interview with Stuff's Todd Niall in Barcelona, Dalton said they would like to see the AC75s used in those regattas, "but not straight away."
He indicated that Emirates Team New Zealand were in favour of bringing in some budget caps to control costs.
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