Cheating penalties big setback for Oracle Team USA in America's Cup
Kiwi challengers have clear advantage after Americans found guilty of adding illegal weight
Software mogul Larry Ellison's Oracle Team USA suffered a major setback in their effort to retain the America's Cup trophy when an international jury docked them two points and kicked three team members out of the event for adding illegal weight to Oracle boats.
The Cup finals are a best-of-17 series, and Oracle will now enter the event two points behind: they will need to win 11 races to win the series, while New Zealand will only need to win nine. Oracle will also be sailing without a key crew member, Dirk de Ridder, a 40-year-old Dutchman who was banished from the event for his role in the weight scandal.
Another Oracle sailor was suspended for the first four races, and two shore crew members were barred from any further participation.
The scandal first came to light in July, when 45-foot Oracle catamarans that had been used for a preliminary series known as the America's Cup World Series of Racing - and were raced again last week in a youth competition - were found to have illegal bags of lead and resin wedged into their frames.
Oracle said the team had gained no advantage from the extra weight and that the skippers and team managers were unaware of the alterations, but they nonetheless agreed to forfeit their World Series victories. The 45-foot catamarans, unlike the 72-foot boats being used in the main event, were a "one-design" class, meaning all teams were supposed to have exactly the same boat.
An international jury of five sailing experts was charged with investigating the situation. In a report, it said it had found five instances of prohibited modifications in three Oracle boats.