Alinghi, BMW fail to break America's Cup deadlock

MADRID: America's Cup holders Alinghi and challengers BMW Oracle remain in dispute over the rules of the 33rd edition of the event after a BMW-imposed deadline for Alinghi to back down expired on Monday.

The commodore of the Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC), under whose colors BMW sail, wrote to his counterpart at Alinghi's club, the Societe Nautique de Geneve (SNG), on Sunday offering to rescind a legal challenge to the validity of Alinghi's sails if the Swiss team signed an agreement by 1800 GMT on Monday.

According to the letter, published by BMW, the deal "would settle all the remaining issues" before a head-to-head showdown for the Cup in Valencia, Spain starting on Feb 8.