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Team New Zealand may have pulled a rabbit out of the hat with their come-from-behind victory over Alinghi in the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series, but the real challenge for the syndicate and regatta organisers now lies in ensuring the momentum gained from the event is not lost.
After a dramatic mid-regatta form-slump, Team New Zealand reeled off three straight victories against America's Cup holders Alinghi on Saturday to overturn a 0-1 overnight deficit and claim the inaugural title.
The unlikely victory went some way to healing the wounds from their past two America's Cup campaigns, in which they were outclassed by Alinghi.
And judging by the rousing reception the Kiwis received from the hundreds of spectators gathered at the village on their return to shore, the regatta has also helped to reignite the New Zealand public's enthusiasm for the sport.
At the conclusion of the event the verdict from the teams, sponsors, organisers, officials and sailing fans has been unanimous: the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series was a resounding success.
But it remains unclear when Team New Zealand will next get the opportunity to defend their title.
Regatta organiser Bruno Trouble is hugely optimistic the event will return to Auckland and believes one thing working in its favour is the cost effectiveness for the competing teams.
"According to the economic situation of today maybe it is the best format. So for sure this simple idea has become an even better one now with the economic situation and we would love to be back to New Zealand, even next year," said Trouble.
"And the good news is as of yesterday we organised a storage place here to keep all our buoys and branding, everything. So that might mean we will be back soon." While Trouble was full of enthusiasm, Yves Carcelle, president and chief executive of Louis Vuitton Malletier, was taking a more measured approach on whether his company would run a similar event.
He said a lot would hinge on the outcome of the current America's Cup legal battles between Alinghi and BMW Oracle.
"I think the main objective is to solve the America's Cup, nothing can be decided until the judgment and after that we will see," said Carcelle.
"We don't know for the moment what the future will be but I would like to concentrate on the last two weeks. I think we've seen here a fantastic sports series."
It is obvious the desire is there, but the question is how much importance will the event hold in the international yachting calendar once the America's Cup legal situation is resolved.
"We all love the America's Cup and we would love to have it back as a main event every four years, and in between to run this kind of regatta in the existing boats, because it is quite cheap,"
Team NZ boss Grant Dalton said that after the weekend's win the focus would switch to the TP-52 Med Cup circuit in Europe.
It was important to keep the team together and to give them focus at a difficult time.
