The Argo Group Gold Cup’s status on the World Match Racing Tour remains uncertain, with organisers of the prestigious regatta still engaged in discussions with tour officials.

The tour announced last year that the M32 high-performance catamaran will be the featured class on this year’s truncated WMRT circuit to run from March to July.

It still remains to be seen if the Gold Cup will be included in the next tour cycle to run from July 2016 to July 2017.

In order to retain its tour status, Gold Cup organisers will have to amend the class rule from the existing classic International One Design sloop to the M32, which made its debut in local waters during the previous Gold Cup.

The first official racing involving the catamaran took place during last month’s first stage of the M32 North American Winter Series being held in Bermuda for the first time this year.

It has been suggested that the M32 has already been confirmed for the next Gold Cup.

However, Andy Cox, chairman of the Gold Cup, has dismissed the claim.

“We have not yet agreed on the format or dates for this year’s Argo Group Gold Cup,” Cox said. “The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club are continuing to work with the World Match Racing Tour and our sponsors to finalise the details for this year’s regatta.”

Adam Minoprio, helmsman of 35th America’s Cup Challenger Groupama Team France, won last year’s Gold Cup with his BlackMatch team-mates after besting Australian rival Keith Swinton and Black Swan Racing in the final.

Meanwhile, Nicolai Sehested, a World Match Racing Tour card holder, has returned to Bermuda with his Trefor Match Racing team-mates to prepare for the upcoming season, which gets under way next month in Perth, Australia.

Sehested has made several appearances in the Argo Group Gold Cup and also competed in the RenaissanceRe Junior Gold Cup.

“It’s been a great experience growing up sailing in Bermuda every year, and it’s always been the place where you see and meet the best sailors in the world,” the Danish sailor said.

“We always enjoyed the monohull boats like the Bermudian IOD, but we have to accept and adapt the new changes quick, and that’s why we choose Bermuda as our training base, like the America’s Cup teams.”