Alinghi wants court to set America's Cup duel date

0 Comments | AFP, March, 2008

MADRID (AFP) — Swiss champions Alinghi have asked a US court to set the date of their multihull duel against US challengers Oracle that is to decide the next America's Cup, the two teams said Thursday.

Talks between the two sides in Geneva, Switzerland on Wednesday failed to settle the date for the 33rd edition of the yacht race, the world's longest-running international sports competition.

Alinghi, owned by Swiss billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli, prefers July 2009 while San Francisco-based Oracle, backed by US billionaire Larry Ellison, insists on October 2008.

Last week the New York Supreme Court backed Oracle in its legal challenge to Alinghi over the rules of the event, setting the stage for a rare multihull face-off between the two sides rather than a...