Just days before the start of the America’s Cup Match, Oracle Team USA was penalized two points and one of their key sailors, wing trimmer Dirk de Ridder, was excluded from all activities in the 34th America’s Cup. The two point penalty means the first two races OTUSA wins in the America’s Cup Match will not count in the points. OTUSA will need to win 11 races to score the nine points needed to win the America’s Cup. Emirates Team New Zealand is unaffected – they still need to win nine races to score nine points.
The penalties were given because the team sailed with illegally modified AC45’s during the AC World Series. Read a more detailed explanation here.
Photos and more info here.