Just when the America’s Cup seemed set on a more certain course, an Italian club has thrown a new Cat among the pigeons. The Gargnano Yacht Club – organisers of the famous Centomiglia Race on Lake Garda but also the representative yacht club of the +39 Challenge in the last America’s Cup – have challenged BMW Oracle Racing for the Challenger’s slot against Alinghi in next year’s giant multihull showdown.

Lorenzo Rizzardi - back for another Cup after +39?
It’ll be interesting to see how BMW Oracle respond to this one. Whether or not they choose to accept the Italian challenge, it’s hard to see the Italians getting a credible piece of 90ft by 90ft technology together in the time frame – whether we’re looking at next February (BMW Oracle’s favoured date) or May (Alinghi’s preferred date). The conspiracy theorists will suggest this is a spoiling challenge concocted by none other than the Defenders. Possibly.
Here’s the letter that the Italians sent to Golden Gate YC
To the kind attention of Mr. Marcus Young – Commodore
BY DHL
Anticipated by email commodore@ggyc.com
Bogliaco di Gargnano,
6 May 2009
Re: 33rd America’s Cup – Multi-Challengers Event
Dear Commodore,
We are writing to express to you our willingness to participate in a multi-challenger event in multi-hull vessels. Our team has actively prepared to participate in the 33rd America’s Cup and we intend to compete in multi-hulls provided enough time is given to the challengers to prepare.
We are a yacht club eligible under the provisions of the Deed of Gift and we represent Italy, a country that has consistently taken part to all America’s Cup editions in the last 25 years and that it is widely recognized as being among the top sailing nations and ship builders in the world. Recognizing that the Defender and current Challenger of record have expressed their willingness for a multi-challenger event, we encourage you to open a challenger selection process and to make arrangements on the dates, courses, number of trials, rules and sailing regulations, and any and all other conditions of the races.
While we acknowledge that all involved yacht clubs have invested and will invest lot of time and resources in building their vessels, we know that a regatta in multi-hull vessels will cause the greatest interest in the sport of sailing and in the America’s Cup community and we are looking forward to competing in the 33rd America’s Cup very soon.
For your information, the same letter has been sent to Société Nautique de Genève. We urge you to reply to our genuine request as soon as possible.
Yours sincerely,
Circolo Vela Gargnano
Lorenzo Rizzardi
President
Here are some details of the people and the organisation behind the Garda challenge
Today in the main hall of the Council of the Lombardy Region, the Circolo Vela Gargnano and the consortium “Green Comm Challenge” have
challenged the Geneva Nautical Society for the 33rd America’s Cup that now has, as only rival, the Golden Gate Yacht Club of San Francisco.
As provided by the “Deed of Gift”, the race will take place in 2010 aboard boats of 90×90 feet, a multihull 90 feet long and 90 feet wide, of about 27 meters of length.
The challenge of the Circolo Vela Gargnano- Lake Garda (the second in its history after the first involvement with “+39Challenge”) has been
presented by the President of the “Green Comm Challenge” Francesco De Leo, by the lawyer Nicolò Bastianini, the Chairman of the Circolo Vela Gargnano Lorenzo Rizzardi, the Vice President of the Council of the Lombardy Region Enzo Lucchini.
The choice of the crew has been granted to Angelo Glisoni, past world champion in the Tornado catamaran, coach of the Italian Team at the
Olympics in Athens and Beijing. The project staff will be led by Sebastiano Rec Morassutti. Our team will be supported by the supervisors Professor Mario Gerla (one of the fathers of the Internet), from the “University of California” in Los Angeles, and Professor John Lombardi, University of Pisa; it will also collaborate with the Politecnico di Torino.
Question: What’s the reason behind this new Italian challenge? Is it really going anywhere?