Different Oracle expected in America's Cup challenger final

Friday, January 10th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) _ The after-effects of a tropical cyclone in the South Pacific whipped up gusty breezes Friday on the Hauraki Gulf, less than a day away from the challenger finals for the America's Cup.

Chris Dickson, skipper of San Francisco-based Oracle that will face Swiss entry Alinghi beginning Saturday, thinks they could be winds of change.

After losing to Alinghi 4-0 in the first phase of the semifinals, Dickson says Oracle Racing has made a number of revisions that will see their boat be more competitive in the best-of-nine final.

Oracle had to get to the challenger final by beating another American syndicate, OneWorld of Seattle, in the second-chance, or repechage, semifinals. Alinghi, meanwhile, qualified for the final directly with its win over Oracle in the first semifinal phase.

``The sail number of the boat that we are using is same, but after that the similarities disappear quickly,'' Dickson said Friday.

``The boat is significantly different. We've found boatspeed in a lot of different areas and I don't think we've compromised any other areas to get it.''

``We've been a team that has been improving all the way along _ call us late achievers or late optimizers, but a lot of the projects we have been working on have come together over the last month.''

Alinghi skipper Russell Coutts, also a New Zealander, also thinks Oracle will be tougher.

``We have a lot of respect for their team,'' Coutts said. ``We think they have made a lot of improvements to their boat and we are looking for a real battle this time.''

The forecast Saturday is for moderate northeast winds at eight to 10 knots, increasing throughout the afternoon to 19 knots, which is the maximum the yachts can race in. Scattered showers are also forecast.

The rival teams are owned by billionaires _ Oracle by software magnate Larry Ellison and Alinghi by pharmaceutical company head Ernesto Bertarelli.

Alinghi, which finished first in the round-robin series, has the better racing record, sitting at 21-3 to Oracle's 20-8.

Oracle has blossomed under Dickson's leadership. Ellison, unhappy with what he perceived as a slow start, brought Dickson back from the sidelines early in the second round-robin and Oracle went on an 11-match winning streak _ until he lost four in a row to Alinghi.

Both teams have agreed to the use of on-board umpires in the final to judge on rule infractions.

On-board officials have been used in international sailing events for more than a decade but never previously at an America's Cup. Their use was proposed at the last regatta in Auckland in 2000 but was rejected for technical and safety reasons.

``We have always been in favor of having them onboard as it will take away some of the uncertainty,'' Dickson said Friday.

Coutts agreed.

``I think it's a very positive move and some other sports have started this a while back.'' he said. ``It doesn't allow for silly penalties that might affect the game, so that's good.''

Alinghi and Oracle are two of nine challengers that began racing on Oct. 1 for the right to face Team New Zealand in February's final. An early morning look at the Viaduct Basin's Halsey Street _ also known as Syndicate Row _ shows seven of the team sheds boarded up except for their popular storefront souvenir shops.

Even Mascalzone Latino, the Italian-based syndicate that was the first to be eliminated on Nov. 3, has its cash register ticking with sales of t-shirts and other clothing and sailing gear. It's a small but continuing return on a combined US$1 billion expenditure by the syndicates to get to New Zealand.