RUSSELL COUTTS stunned his countrymen four years when he sensationally walked out on Team New Zealand (TNZ) after masterminding its first defence of the America’s Cup, to join the newly formed Alinghi syndicate from Switzerland.
Having then steered Alinghi to a crushing 5-0 victory over his former team-mates in TNZ in the 31st America’s Cup in Auckland last year, all seemed set for Coutts to mastermind the first defence by the Swiss, which is scheduled for Valencia, Spain, in 2007.
But there have been persistent rumours of a cooling of relations between Coutts and Ernesto Bertarelli, the Swiss pharmaceuticals billionaire who owns Alinghi, amid reports that Coutts disagreed with the choice of Valencia as the venue for the next Cup and was dismayed not to have a bigger say in how affairs were being run.
The impression that Coutts has become “semi-detached” from Alinghi has led to intense speculation that another walkout could be on the cards. Farevela, the Italian sailing website, citing “sources close to the (Alinghi) team”, claimed yesterday that an announcement to that effect would be made next week.
However, Alinghi is denying the rumours, which, if true, would be a big setback to its prospects. As the team prepared for the UBS Trophy in Newport, Rhode Island, a promotional regatta against BMW/Oracle Racing that starts today, an official said that Coutts was still playing a key role. “He’s still our team leader and he is here in Newport and everything is as was,” Michelle Slade , for Alinghi, said. “I think you are talking about rumours — there is certainly nothing I’m aware of internally.”