Cup Favourites pt2

In part two of our interview with Russell Coutts and Brad Butterworth, the Alinghi afterguard look at their old team

He doesn't feel that the money difference with the challengers, that has traditionally been the whinge of the Kiwi team, is really much of an issue. "I don’t think there is a huge difference this time moneywise amongst the teams. I think Team New Zealand’s budget is NZ$88 million and when you look at what the international teams have to spend to get down here, that’s a big budget team. Last time I think the budget was NZ$58 million or something like that. But we weren’t up building two new boats and you can do it a lot cheaper here. The boat building facilities are very good..."

The prospect of Coutts and Butterworth winning the Cup is obviously a distinct possibility and it will be interesting to see the local backlash if the former Kiwi heroes take the Auld Mug back to Europe. "I think they’ll hate it, won’t they?" says Butterworth.

He plays down the strong feeling that flared up against the Kiwi crews racing for challengers (of which there are many) prior to the round robins. "That’s really fuelled by a few outspoken members on talkback radio. The ones that are upset are the ones who may wind up money on the real estate side of things. But I think that whatever team wins, they should be respected for being able to put this whole thing together. It is a game at the end of the day!"

Butterworth, like Coutts, enthuses about the prospect of winning and getting the Cup across to Europe. "You can’t get it on a lake but it would be great," he says, "especially if the Cup went to Italy. It would really put it on the international scene, the whole game. You can make a lot of changes to it, that would make it a lot easier for teams to get on, and to encourage participation, rather than discourage it."

In the meantime there is business to be done and all the race pundits are waiting for a Team New Zealand versus Alinghi America's Cup to see whether the master or the pupil wins out.

Coutts and Butterworth with Alinghi boss Ernesto Bertarelli navigating