Here speaks the Oracle

BMW Oracle Racing were whipped by Alinghi. But one of the crew tells JULIE ASH he backs the Kiwis over the Swiss.

Of all the challengers, Oracle BMW Racing were one of the more successful against Russell Coutts' Swiss syndicate Alinghi.

Of the 12 times the pair went head to head, Oracle won twice - once in round two and then in race four of the challenger series final.

For nearly all the other challengers, the Swiss syndicate were simply in another league.

Alinghi sailed 28 races in the challenger series and lost only three.

The only other team to beat them was Seattle syndicate OneWorld in round one.

"I think the Alinghi guys have done a fantastic job," says Oracle BMW tactician Aucklander John Cutler.

"They got a team, started from scratch and are worthy winners of the Louis Vuitton Cup. They have sailed well and they were fast."

Cutler says the experience and skill of the Swiss afterguard - Coutts, tactician Brad Butterworth, strategists Jochen Schuemann and Murray Jones, and navigator Ernesto Bertarelli - is a key factor in their success.

"The Alinghi afterguard are an extremely polished, experienced unit. Not only their afterguard, but the way it leans into their trimmers as well.

"It is a very smooth unit which gets the most out of their boat the whole time. That is their strength. Their boat is going full speed the whole time and they do it without a lot of fuss and bother."

But despite the wealth of experience the Swiss have, Cutler still believes Team New Zealand are going to take some beating.

"They are generally very fast, so I am going to work on that assumption again.

"I think, looking at their boats, we have seen some nice-looking boats. I think the hula is an interesting piece of technology. But I think even without that, the boats are fairly well sorted.

"The rigs and sails look nice, which is exactly what we have come to expect from Team New Zealand."

Although there are some concerns as to how the young Team New Zealand crew will handle up against the strong and experienced Alinghi crew, including half a dozen ex-Team New Zealand members, Cutler has plenty of faith.

"I think Team New Zealand is going to be hard to beat.

"Dean and his guys, even though this is the first time where they have been in charge of the whole programme, have been around for a long time. They have done a lot of racing and they've been successful on the match-racing circuit.

"I think you are going to see a good race if the boats are even. I think Dean and his guys will do fine. The advantage is with the defender right now, and I think it is going to stay that way."

Cutler said the new format had allowed Alinghi to get to the match in fewer races than, say, Prada last time, and they have also had a lot more time to prepare.

But when it comes to picking a winner, Cutler's money is on Team New Zealand.

"I am going to pick Team New Zealand to win by 5-2.

"I think from a boat-speed stand-point, Team New Zealand should have an advantage, but Alinghi will be more race-ready.

"Team New Zealand have the home support and they have trained on the Gulf the longest. They also started with the two best boats in the world, in NZL57 and NZL60.

"Alinghi started by chopping up the old Swiss boat Be Happy. It is not quite the same as taking the two fastest boats for a blat around the harbour."

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