Don’t be surprised if a Chinese challenge is announced soon:
- Title sponsor Louis Vuitton gets about one third of their sales from Chinese customers.
- Chinese broadcaster CCTV has agreed to pay broadcast rights to deliver AC racing to 400 million Chinese households.
- Softbank, sponsor of Team Japan, owns 32% of Chinese internet giant Ali Baba. Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison and Ali Baba CEO Jack Ma are all close business associates.
- ACEA officials have said another Asian team might challenge.
All these signs seem to point to a Chinese challenger.