Southampton, England, September 15, 2004 – Brasil 1 will be sponsored by Vivo - Brazil’s biggest mobile ‘phone operator, Motorola, Qualcomm and the Brazilian government. Brazil’s Torben Grael, fresh from more gold medal success at the recent Athens Olympic Games will be the skipper.
“Having reached the pinnacle in short course sailing, now is my chance to do the same in ocean racing,” says Grael, who has also been part of two America’s Cup campaigns and sailed part of The Whitbread in 1997-98. Former star class world champion, Alan Adler, will lead Brasil 1 together with Enio Ribeiro, a marketing executive with an industry and sports background.
The chosen designer is American-based Farr Yacht Design and construction will begin shortly at ML Boatworks in Indaiatuba, Sao Paulo, Brazil. This project is seen by the Brazilian public and business sectors as an excellent opportunity for Brazil to promote it’s primary companies and products all over the world.
The syndicate plans to create an atmosphere at the stopovers reminiscent of Brazil with fashion and music shows as one of the highlights to be held in their syndicate pavilion, which will showcase Brazil around the world.
“This is a very exciting time for us,” commented Glenn Bourke, CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race. “We ended last week with confirmation of another three teams in our race, having started the week with the news that one potential team sponsor had slipped away. As any sports organiser will tell you, ‘some you win, some you lose’ – this is the nature of the business.
“Today’s announcement is the first of several more we will be making over the coming weeks, with the next announcement coming from a European team whilst emerging out of the USA, is one of the most exciting campaigns the race has ever seen. We are proud to have confirmed entries from a greater spread of countries than the event has had for many years.”
“We are in an extremely strong position now with the fleet set to exceed the last race’s total of eight boats. I am absolutely confident that the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06 will be one to remember,” Glenn Bourke concluded.
For interviews and further information on Brasil 1, please contact:
Enio Ribeiro, Tel +55 11 99070 462 Email: enio@velabrasil.com.br
For further media information on the Volvo Ocean Race, please contact
Lizzie Green, Tel: +44 1489 554 832
Mob: +44 7801 185 320
Email: mailto: lizzie.green@volvooceanrace.org
Current stills archive (royalty-free images for media):
http://media.vemuk.com
For assistance, please contact: Patrick Anderson,
Tel +44 777 55 33 956, Email: mailto:Patrick.Anderson@volvooceanrace.org
Notes to editors
The Volvo Ocean Race will start with an in port race in Sanxenxo, Galicia, on November 5, 2005.
The start of leg one, the first offshore leg, will be from Vigo, Galicia, on November 12, 2005.
The Volvo Ocean race is a round the world yacht race featuring nine offshore racing legs. Included in the 2005-2006 event will be an inshore race at each of the main stopover ports including the start port in Galicia.
Four teams from the last race measured the media value of their exposure. The results showed an average of US$50 million, which equates to a 200-300% return on their sponsorship investment.
Volvo Ocean Race achieved a cumulative audience of over 800 million viewers ranking it among the top international sporting events.
Research on awareness of the competing teams was also conducted which again showed an increase by up to 30% for some sponsors.
50210
