Larry Ellison & Ernesto Bertarelli. Everyone has an opinion on them. For better or worse they changed the America’s Cup forever…
Larry Ellison and Russell Coutts relationship would go on to form SailGP.
Whilst, Bertarelli & Alinghi have recently returned to America’s Cup racing after an 11 year hiatus. The 2010 America’s Cup build-up was dominated by lawyers (and was arguably more acrimonious than the 1988 cup).
The years of fighting would come to an end at this Deed of Gift match between just two teams. Another similarity with 1988 is the use of a wing sail by one of the teams.
This cup also marked the transition of the America’s Cup away from monohulls, too multihulls. And it saw the first & only trimaran to sail in the America’s Cup. This was the greatest sailing rivalry between billionaires ever seen.
Both owners sailed on their boats. Bertarelli as helm (until Peyron tookover) and Ellison as afterguard.