Tom Ehman, rules consultant for Oracle BMW Racing's America's Cup team, must have been blindsided yesterday, Thursday, when he received a call from Jock Anderson, reporter for the New Zealand newspaper "The National Business Review".
Documents had been sent to him in which not only the organisational structures of the financing funds of the title-defending team New Zealand were listed, but also all the salaries of the Kiwis.
Individual Shore team members are said to earn 40,000 dollars, skipper Dean Barker and head of design Tom Schnackenberg as much as 600,000 dollars. And this despite the fact that the team had recently asked the city of Auckland for a donation. Whether these figures are correct or not. The fact is that Ehman asserts: "I don't know these papers. And of course I didn't send them either."
So who is behind this attempt to discredit the host team from New Zealand, as well as Team Oracle BMW Racing and ultimately the National Business Review? Another team? After all, attempts to stir up trouble and cause difficulties for opposing teams are becoming more frequent as the races for the Louis Vuitton Cup (from 1 October 2002) and the America's Cup (from 15 February 2003) approach.
In any case, announced Joanna Ingley, spokeswoman for the Oracle BMW Racing Team, the police will be called in to find out who is behind this fraudulent behaviour.
