Louis Vuitton Pacific Series

The Louis Vuitton Pacific Series is a sailing regatta scheduled to be held in Auckland, New Zealand during January 2009. This regatta is to be run by Team New Zealand, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron as well as local and national New Zealand Governments. Bruno Troublé is Louis Vuitton's spokesperson regarding the Series.

The creation of this event is in response to the legal battle surrounding the America's Cup yachting competition. Any team that competed in the 2007 Louis Vuitton Cup will be eligible to enter. Six teams will compete on a first come first serve basis. All six teams will use Team New Zealand's NZL-92 and NZL-84 to make participation more affordable.

The regatta will be held over three weekends beginning on January 31, with three races a day proposed until the final on February 13 or 14. Teams have until October 30 to enter. Louis Vuitton will be providing a new trophy for the event.

Confirmed Teams

To date five teams have confirmed their participation.
*nzl - Team New Zealand (host)
*usa - BMW Oracle Racing [ [http://bmworacleracing.com/en/news/articles/2008_September/0916_auckland.html?track.refer=/en/index.html&track.type=home BMW ORACLE Racing welcomes Louis Vuitton Pacific Series.] @ BMW Oracle Racing Official Website 16.09.2008]
*fra - K-Challenge [ [http://www.k-challenge.org/news.php?uid=4f8ee681add9415f334a9178950ad0cd&sel=id&value=498 K-Challenge Welcomes the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series with a Great Enthusiasm!] @ K-Challenge Official Website 2008-09-15]
*ita - Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia Team [ [http://www.cupinfo.com/en/mascalzone-lvps-press005-mascalzone-greets-louis-vuitton-pacific-series-with-enthusiam.php Mascalzone Latino at the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series] @ CupInfo September 17th, 2008]
*rsa - Team Shosholoza [ [http://www.teamshosholoza.com/ Team Shosholoza Official Site] ] < [ [http://www.cupinfo.com/en/sac-lvps-press009-shosholoza-to-sail-in-louis-vuitton-pacific-series.php Shosholoza to Race In New Louis Vuitton Pacific Series In Auckland Next Year] @ CupInfo September 17th, 2008]

Expressions of interest

In addition to this seventeen other teams have expressed interest in participating. As a result the competition may be expanded to eight teams. Teams that have expressed interest include; [ [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/yachting/news/article.cfm?c_id=106&objectid=10533321 Yachting: Series captures imagination] @ NZ Herald Sunday Sep 21, 2008]
*fra - A team led by former French Spirit CEO and Skipper, Marc Pajot.
*UK - Team Origin. [ [http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/sailing/proposed--louis-vuitton-pacific-series-looks-set-to-go-ahead-936024.html Proposed Louis Vuitton Pacific series looks set to go ahead] @ The Independent, Friday, 19 September 2008.]
*aus - A team led by John Bertrand.
*ESP - Desafio Espanol.
*usa - A team led by Dennis Conner.
*bra - An unnamed Brazilian team.

References

* [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10532382 Series aims to get the love back into big-yacht racing] @ New Zealand Herald Tuesday Sep 16, 2008
* [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/americas-cup/news/article.cfm?c_id=531&objectid=10532569 Coutts endorses new regatta] @ New Zealand Herald Wednesday Sep 17, 2008
* [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10532822&ref=rss More teams confirm for Pacific Series] @ New Zealand Herald Thursday Sep 18, 2008
* [http://www.emiratesteamnz.com/default.aspx Team New Zealand Offical Site]