AC Update: Americans penalised

In a sensational day at the America’s Cup, Oracle Team USA has been fined, penalised and had three of its team members excluded from the regatta for illegal modifications made to the team’s two AC45s in the 2012/2013 AC45 series.

This will give Emirates Team New Zealand a distinct advantage in the upcoming America’s Cup finals starting on September 7.

The finals comprise a series of races with the first team to win nine races declared the winner of the Cup. This is the highest number of race wins required in the 162-year history of the America’s Cup.

With the penalty imposed by the International Jury, Oracle Team USA will start the final series on minus two points meaning they have to win 11 races to retain the Cup.

The Americans were also fined $250,000 for the breaches of the measurement rules which will be paid to charity. The fine will be divided in half with $125,000 going to the Andrew Simpson Sailing Federation which was established following the death of Andrew Simpson on the AC72 Artemis on San Francisco Bay earlier this year. The other half of the fine is payable to the Mayor of San Francisco for the benefit of at-risk youth in the San Francisco bay area.

The International Jury confirmed that only a handful of individuals were involved, and that all members of senior management of Oracle Team USA -- including skippers Jimmy Spithill and Ben Ainslie, CEO Russell Coutts, General Manager Grant Simmer and Shore Team Director Mark Turner -- were not aware of the breaches of the rules nor involved in any way.

Those members of the team who were excluded were: Dirk De Ridder (trimmer/grinder), Andrew Walker (boat builder) and Bryce Ruthenberg (rigger). Matt Mitchell (grinder), was excluded from the finals until four races have been sailed.

For more information go to: www.americascup.com