The cat is out of the bag – The America's Cup is headed back to monohulls.
Patrizio Bertelli, the boss of Italian boat Luna Rossa confirmed the move away from catamarans for the next regatta in an interview with La Stampa.
The Italian syndicate is the challenger of record for Team New Zealand's cup defence.
Bertelli said the return to a monuhull format was a condition of an agreement between the two teams ahead of Bermuda, where Luna Rossa's help played a role in Team New Zealand's dominant cup victory.
He said the new boats "will be very powerful" and include the ability to foil, however he wouldn't go into exact details on how that would work.
The Italian team withdrew from the last America's Cup cycle as they were unhappy with the constant rule changes implemented by the holder, Oracle Team USA.
They decided to back a New Zealand challenge by handing the Kiwis a test boat and the services of several off-shore staff as well as sailors.
Luna Rossa's skipper, Max Sirena became a technical advisor to New Zealand's challenge in Bermuda.
Bertelli confirmed there would also be tighter nationality rules, as indicated by Team New Zealand.
He said there would also be pre-America's Cup racing held in Italy.
Team New Zealand is set to officially announce the new America's Cup protocol later this month.
Newshub.
