A news story on cupineurope.com reveals that there’s a 70 per cent chance that Patrizio Bertelli (pictured left) will, contrary to his original plans, be at the 2007 America’s Cup, but with a different team. The website states that Bertelli said: “The common sense and a comprehensible bitterness leaded me to say ‘basta’ but the mood for challenge doesn’t go away easily. Further more, it would be an offence not to use the extraordinary patrimony of means and experiment we have built during the two campaigns in Auckland.” Bertelli will put the lessons he’s learned from earlier campaigns behind his next challenge. He plans to sign up Francesco de Angelis as skipper and build a team of about 100 including young members from previous campaigns.

Bertelli is currently seeking a partner for the campaign from which he hopes to build a new Luna Rosa. Bertelli continued: “I’m meeting a lot of people and I’m looking for someone who shares my enthusiasm and who understands the range of the event when the whole world will be focused on Europe.”