America's Cup Winner ALINGHI and Challenger of Record ORACLE BMW Racing To Compete in Moet Cup in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO, July 1 -- In the first of a series of America's Cup Class events preceding the next America's Cup, the 2003 winner of sailing's most prestigious prize, ALINGHI, will face off against Challenger of Record ORACLE BMW Racing this upcoming September in the MOET CUP to be held in San Francisco.

The September 15-20 event will pit the Louis Vuitton Cup finalists of the 2002-2003 Challenger Races against each other for the first time on San Francisco Bay, homeport of ORACLE BMW Racing and its affiliated yacht club, Golden Gate Yacht Club. The race will be staged within viewing distance of Pier 39 and the Marina District with the Golden Gate Bridge as a backdrop to the magnificent America's Cup Class boats.

ALINGHI and ORACLE BMW Racing are working together to improve the 152-year-old competition. The MOET CUP is a first step toward making the event more accessible to the general public and sailing fans worldwide. For the teams, this highly anticipated competition provides a training platform and the opportunity to try out new crew in an authentic racing environment.

The MOET CUP will recapture the drama of America's Cup Class match racing as the teams prepare for their upcoming campaigns anticipated to take place in Europe. In the first authentic America's Cup match racing event in the USA since the trophy was lost to New Zealand in San Diego in 1995, the teams will go head-to-head in this world-class competition. The same international umpires who governed the racing in New Zealand will make instantaneous calls from patrol boats on the race course to ensure a fair playing field.

San Francisco Bay offers an incredible opportunity to showcase the power and the beauty of the America's Cup with the racing action staged close to shore. "The Golden Gate Yacht Club is proud to be involved with the MOET CUP. We believe that this event will afford the general public a rare opportunity to view high-tech racing coupled with world class sailing -- something that is typically only seen on TV," said Golden Gate Yacht Club Commodore Ned Barrett. With many America's Cup crew on board, ORACLE BMW Racing, with Gavin Brady and Chris Dickson, will sail USA 76, and ALINGHI, with Brad Butterworth and Russell Coutts, will race SUI 64, the same state-of-the-art boats sailed in New Zealand earlier this year. "We encourage the public to come and view the action first hand," continued Barrett.

Moet & Chandon is the official sponsor of the MOET CUP. Event partners include Oracle Corporation, BMW, Hewlett-Packard, TAG Heuer and Henri Lloyd. The Golden Gate Yacht Club in partnership with the Treasure Island Sailing Center will run the MOET CUP on-the-water Race Committee.