Oracle CEO Larry Ellison's vision for the next America's Cup "involves the staging of regattas all over the world -- leading up to the Louis Vuitton Cup, and the main event, the America's Cup, likely taking place in Honolulu," according to Julian Guthrie of the S.F. CHRONICLE. Ellison detailed his plans "in a series of exclusive interviews over several months" for the new paperback edition of Guthrie's book, "The Billionaire and the Mechanic: How Larry Ellison and a Car Mechanic Teamed Up to Win Sailing's Greatest Race, the America's Cup, Twice." In an edited excerpt from the book, Guthrie noted the planned competition "would be a departure from anything done before, and would mean that -- unless negotiations turn around -- San Francisco will not be the host city for the next Cup." Ellison's ideas for the 35th America's Cup "advance his goal of attracting a wider audience to the sport of sailing" and the event. Ellison said of the next Cup, "We're going to start with two years of globe-trotting, Formula One-style racing in AC45s. ... By using AC45s, we keep the costs to a manageable level, so we expect to have 12 teams entered in the 35th America's Cup. The teams will be divided up into two divisions: Atlantic and Pacific. The Atlantic division will have teams from France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Sweden, and Switzerland. The Pacific Division will have teams from Australia, China, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, and San Francisco, USA." Ellison sees the Atlantic championship being held in Rome and the Pacific championship in Shanghai (S.F. CHRONICLE, 3/10).
