I'm kind of confused... this whole change to the class rule was to sweeten the pot for some teams that are sitting on the fence - thinking about getting into the event but are scared of the costs. The only serious one being a French entry.
So we got an AC48 class rule, that really wont be any different substantively than the AC45 - which isn't a cheap boat to campaign either. Certainly its less than the 72, but is it much different than the 62 in a meaningful quantity?
So we lost LR, who had at least a serious challenger pedigree - only to maybe get the entry of a French team whose challenger credentials are spotty at best. Not to mention the spotty position of ETNZ with regards to their funding and their evident displeasure with this change.
I just don't see the point of doing this. The AC48 isn't going to be nearly as spectacular to watch as the 72's or even the 62's would have been.
