| Germany. Three America’s Cup teams will sail first Grand-Prix regatta in Kiel |
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| Tuesday, 20 June 2006 | |
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Bruno Troublé & Andreas Kling: BMW ORACLE Racing (USA), Team Shosholoza (South Africa) and United Internet Team Germany will line up at the start of four racing days, three AC teams, two race formats, one high class sailing event: the German Sailing Grand Prix. Staged from the 3rd to 6th of August 2006 in Kiel, the America’s Cup teams of BMW ORACLE Racing (USA), Team Shosholoza (South Africa) and United Internet Team Germany will compete in fleet races and match races. For the first time in the 155-year-old Cup history, three challengers will meet in Germany to compete against each other in a regatta. Exactly one month after the Louis Vuitton Act 12, the upcoming qualification race for the 32nd AC from June 23rd to July 2nd in Valencia, Spain, three teams will come to the City of Kiel with their 24 metre long and four metre wide high-tech yachts. First they will sail a warm-up race on smaller yachts on Thursday (August 3rd), before three days of fleet racing and match racing start. The start of each day’s first (fleet) race and the finish of the last (fleet) race of the day will take place in the inner fiord of Kiel, up close to the spectators. The match races, which take place on the outer fiord, will be projected live onto a wide screen in the heart of the big race village on the “Reventlouwiese” next to where the boats will be berthed. The first German Sailing Grand prix will convey the fascination and excitement of the America’s Cup to enthusiastic sailing fans and interested general public alike. The three teams, which have asked the Kiel Yacht Club to act as the race organiser, take it seriously: “We will start with our top teams and give our best”, the three crew members said in one voice during a press conference, held on Monday (19 June) during the Kiel Week. “The home match will be a good test after the Acts for us, because our competitors will come with their training boats as we do, and therefore they hopefully do not have such a great speed advantage anymore”, said Matti Paschen (34), sail trimmer of the United Internet Team Germany. In this year’s Acts, the first ever German campaign in the history of the America’s Cup, has to compete against the new yachts of other teams with their GER 72, a former Italian boat from Mascalzone Latino of 2003. BMW ORACLE Racing will ship its USA 71 to Kiel. The 2003-generation ACC yacht was last raced by BMW ORACLE Racing in the 2004 Louis Vuitton Acts 2 and 3 in Valencia. “During this event we will show how much high-tech, team work and professionalism are involved in the Formula One of sailing,” said bowman Tony Kolb (30) from Munich, “and again we will set a benchmark in sailing here in Kiel.” Kolb had enjoyed the enthusiasm of the people of Kiel while he was part of the winning illbruck team in the round the world race 2002 coming into the fiord for the final leg. Two around-the-world races and one America’s Cup: Tim Kröger (41) from Hamburg has a lot of experience in his sailing career. He now sails on board Shosholoza, which is supported by T-Systems. The boat captain is the German face in the South African “Team of the Year”. The African nation, organising the next world championship in football in four years’ time, currently presents its slogan “one nation, one team, one dream” to the host country of the 2006 event. Kröger: “For us, the German Sailing Grand Prix is more than just a practice race”. Shosholoza will sail RSA 48, which is the yacht that Prada Challenge (Italy) had used in the Louis Vuitton Cup 2000. “KIEL.SAILING City is very happy and honoured to host the first German Sailing Grand Prix”, said Angelika Volquartz, Lord Mayoress of Kiel. The new regatta underlines the city’s title “world capital of sailing”. “The city and its citizens will not disappoint their America’s Cup guests,” Volquartz added. More than 100,000 spectators are expected to watch the racing on Kiel Fiord. www.bmworacleracing.com www.united-internet-team-germany.de www.shosholoza2.ix.co.za |
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| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 20 June 2006 ) |
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