Rudder elevators, wings, tips, whatever your cultural area calls them are becoming "the new performance stimulator" across the board. From A Cats to AC 72s there is evidence and growing faith that lifting foils add stabilization.

The rudder elevators, do, in fact, reward good driving and sailhandling! This makes it arguable as a safety feature in the light of two other AC teams supporting Emirates since have made hull modifications which they claim make the boat safer.

Now the sailing jury will decide which is the modern path to safety - high performance control (Oracle) or the 20th century approach by the whiners (Others sans elevators).

Could this be a ploy for "more time to train?" The move certainly adds drama for the audience. Let us hope that safety through modern design and athletic performance prevails over the traditional 'displacement (adding weight) approach' for safety. The Jury is out... postpone racing for higher speeds and thrills in lighter air??? But, Oracle may have stepped outside the lifelines for the sake of modernism a titch too late...