Four days before the start of the 34th America's Cup duel on Sunday, the International Cup Jury in San Francisco has imposed harsh penalties on defending champions Oracle Team USA.
Three members of Larry Ellison's sailing racing team have been banned for the remainder of the current Cup cycle, including trimmer Dirk de Ridder, a member of the core team around helmsman James Spithill. Dirk "Cheese" de Ridder is also well-known in Germany's regatta sailing scene. The Dutchman won the Volvo Ocean Race 2001/2002 with skipper John Kostecki and the "illbruck Challenge".
According to the jury, the accused were found guilty of grossly unsportsmanlike behaviour and fraud. They were directly or indirectly involved in the unauthorised addition of weight to at least one US AC45 catamaran during the America's Cup World Series (ACWS). The two consecutive ACWS titles won by the US team had already been voluntarily returned a few weeks before this jury decision.
After a month of evidence and witness hearings, the jury was particularly harsh on Dirk de Ridder in its judgement: "The jury is convinced that Dirk gave the order or instruction to add weight to the front kingpost. Dirk knew the weight had been added. Dirk knew it was a violation of the AC45 class rule. Dirk did not tell the truth at the hearing on this matter."
The American team was also found guilty of damaging the image of the America's Cup. Oracle Team USA must now start Saturday's duel against Team New Zealand with two minus points and win not nine, but eleven times in order to successfully defend sailing's most famous trophy.
The Cup jury had been investigating the case since 4 August and heard many witnesses, including the accused. Four-time America's Cup winner Russell Coutts, CEO of the convicted team, told the jury that he was "shocked and disappointed" by the jury's decision.
In his team's statement, Coutts said: "Only some of our 130 team members were involved in the offences. They happened without the knowledge of our management or the skippers. We disagree with the jury's unprecedented penalties, but we have no choice but to make the necessary crew changes on board our race boat and do our best in training over the next four days to be ready for the start of the 34th America's Cup."
The jury made it clear that, in addition to the suspensions, the points penalty and a fine of 250,000 US dollars (half of which will go to a foundation in the name of the late Cup sailor Andrew Simpson, with the other half to be decided by San Francisco's mayor), they did not want to impose any harsher penalties so that the battle for the Cup could be decided on the water. At the same time, the Australian chairman David Tillett and the four jury members made it clear that they had doubts as to whether they had actually been able to expose all those involved in this cheating scandal. For example, the decision minutes refer to "Sailor X", against whom the charges were dropped. The jury's investigation files, its reports and decisions read like a thriller. The documents can be found on the America's Cup website (www.americascup.com).
A hastily written press release from the Cup organisers late Tuesday night German time said: "The International Jury has confirmed that only a handful of individuals were involved and that all senior members of Oracle Team USA management, including skipper Jimmy Spithill and CEO Russell Coutts, General Manager Grant Simmer and Shore Team Director Mark Turner - were neither aware nor involved."
