Ellison bought the boats and assets of 2000 finalist AmericaOne and is sure to benefit from that team's hard-earned expertise during this campaign.

Cup legends Paul Cayard and Chris Dickson began the campaign with Oracle but they have now moved on.

Assuming sailing responsibilities now are Cup veteran John Cutler and match-race expert Peter Holmberg, who won the Swedish Match Tour in 2002.

Oracle is likely to be very competitive in its first America's Cup campaign.

Based in California and representing the Golden Gate Yacht Club, the team has been training non-stop in Auckland since 2001.

Their boats have been designed by the highly-regarded Bruce Farr, who was responsible for most of the yachts in the Volvo Ocean Race.

Verdict: Could go all the way.