Oracle skipper Jimmy Spithill has provided the strongest indication yet that his future in America's Cup racing may not lie with the American syndicate.
The brash Australian has been vocal regarding his intentions to get his hands back on the Auld Mug after being convincingly beaten by Team New Zealand in Bermuda.
However he's yet to recommit to Larry Ellison-owned Oracle, with his most recent comments suggesting he's open to jumping aboard whichever boat he believes will provide him the most likely path to victory in New Zealand.
"For me the most important part about joining a team is the best chance of winning," Spithill told Fox Sports.
"That's what it's all comes down to. Working with great people and having the best competitive chance when you go out on the battlefield."
Ultimately, that decision may be removed from his hands by his billionaire boss.
Former Oracle head and America's Cup veteran Tom Ehman has suggested that Ellison, who doesn't suffer losses lightly, will look elsewhere for his skipper for the next regatta in 2021.
"It's Larry's nature not necessarily to continue with somebody who has lost, and I rather doubt that if Larry does it again that Jimmy would be on the wheel," Ehman said.
Spithill, winner of the 2013 America's Cup in San Francisco, admitted he still loses sleep over the heavy loss to the New Zealand boat in June, and that the resulting sense of "unfinished business" keeps him highly motivated to erase those memories with another finals series triumph.
"I just can't leave it like that….I want to get back out there with a team of guys and come back."
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