Prada have dropped the first bombshell of the America's Cup with the announcement tonight that their design director, Doug Peterson, has left after just one day's racing.
The Italian syndicate are backed by billionaire Patrizio Bertelli, who has a reputation as an autocrat.
Bertelli, married to fashion tycoon MiucciaPrada, will answer questions tomorrow about Peterson's sudden departure.
The syndicate issued a brief press statement this evening saying Peterson was no longer with them and was no longer in charge of the design team of at least 22.
"Effective from today, Doug Peterson is no longer design director of Prada Challenge 2003 and no longer holds any operative role within the team," the statement said.
Spokeswoman Alessandra Ghezzi said nothing more would be said until Bertelli's press conference.
The reason behind Peterson's exit is not clear.
Speculation around the Viaduct Harbour is that he and Bertelli disagreed over design issues.
One of Prada's new boats, Luna Rossa ITA-74, has raced just once in the challenger series that started on Tuesday, losing to another favourite, Oracle BMW Racing, by less than a minute. While Oracle's boat was clearly quicker upwind, Luna Rossa appeared to have the edge downwind.
Prada have a second boat, Luna Rossa ITA-80, which may be raced later in the series.
Already this week, Prada have been dogged by rumours of discontent among the crew. New Zealand helmsman Gavin Brady was reported to have left the team after failing to make the crew for the boat in the first race.
This was American-born Peterson's second campaign for Prada. He helped to design their Louis Vuitton Cup winners in the last challenger series, and has won the America's Cup twice, with US syndicate America3 in 1992 and with Team New Zealand in 1995.
