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Marseille
Louis Vuitton - Act 1 (06/07/04)
(source
: AC
Management)
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Racing for Act 1 of the 32nd America’s
Cup will begin on the waters of Marseille’s
Rade Sud on the 5th September, 2004. The racing
programme for the Marseille Louis Vuitton Act
1 was announced on Monday at a press conference
held right on the edge of the race course area.
"Spectacular competition, innovative
ways of getting the public close to the action,
and some of the best sailing teams in the world…",
said Michel Bonnefous, the CEO of AC Management.
"This is the America’s Cup in Europe.
This is Act 1 in Marseille. We start with the
Marseille Louis Vuitton Act and we continue
in Valencia one month later".
For the first time in its 153-year history,
the America’s Cup is a four-year event,
with a series of regattas, each one a distinct
Act in a story which will climax with the Louis
Vuitton Cup and the 32nd America’s Cup
Match in 2007, in the host city of Valencia,
Spain. The first of these Acts is the Marseille
Louis Vuitton Act. The points earned by teams
in September, in Act 1, will count towards their
seeding for the Louis Vuitton Cup in 2007.
"This is the first time for these
sailing teams to express themselves in this
new America’s Cup format,"Bonnefous
said. "We have initiated an exciting mixture
of fleet and match racing to keep the sailing
teams challenged, to make for an intense visual
spectacle and to guarantee entertainment."
"This is a fantastic opportunity
for Marseille to show the entire world our exceptional
natural areas and coastline as well as the fullness
of our talents," said Jean-Claude Gaudin,
the Mayor of Marseille. "The Marseille
Louis Vuitton Act, hosted in the heart of our
city, on the J4, will demonstrate again the
‘savoir faire’ of the people of Marseille,
and the beauty of the region."
The Marseille Louis Vuitton Act will
combine Fleet Racing, where all of the teams
compete against each other at the same time,
with the more traditional Match Racing (the
one on one duel) that has been the essence of
the America’s Cup since 1870.
Each element will count towards the final
result, so the winner will be the most consistent
performer across both disciplines. (Full regatta
details were released in the recently published
Notice of Race, which can be found on the official
website, www.americascup.com)
The Marseille public will be able to
follow the racing from the many shoreside vantage
points that the Rade Sud in Marseille provides.
At the J4 Dock in the America’s Cup Park,
racing will be visible on a giant screen with
live commentary in two languages.
"One of the reasons for the choice
of Marseille for Act 1 is because of the large
number of vantage points that the city provides
right over the Rade Sud race course area,"
Bonnefous explained. "Our concept for the
America’s Cup means bringing this important
spectacle close to the shore. We want the population
of Marseille, and the teams – the heroes
of the story – to be as close together
as possible. The setting of the Rade Sud is
perfect for this."
In addition, Marseille’s collective
marina capacity is home to over 5000 boats.
Many of these are expected to go and view the
racing from the water.
The public accessibility won’t end
with the action on the water. As in Formula
One racing where you never leave the car outside
every night, each racing boat will be lifted
from the water and ‘parked’ in its
cradle ashore for overnight maintenance, before
being relaunched again the next morning.
This too is part of the America’s Cup spectacle.
The America’s Cup Park on the J4 dock at
the entrance of the Vieux Port has been specially
designed for the public to watch many of the
shore activities of the race teams as they prepare
for battle at sea.
The Marseille Louis Vuitton Act is also
the beginning of four years of America’s
Cup television. For Act 1 the event will provide
broadcasters with daily 26-minute specials.
This programming will be distributed beginning
halfway through the week (Wednesday 8th September),
through to the end of the event, including a
summary programme available on the 12th September.
Daily news highlights and extended news highlights
will be made available to all broadcasters from
the start of the event.
On hand for the press conference were
representatives from five of the teams already
confirmed as entrants for Act 1: Team Alinghi,
the Defender of the America’s Cup; BMW
Oracle Racing Team, the Challenger of Record;
France’s Le Défi and K-Challenge;
and the South African America’s Cup Challenge,
Team Shosholoza. This marked the first public
appearance of Team Shosholoza since it was accepted
as a Challenger for the 32nd America’s
Cup on Friday, 4th June.
"It is tremendous to see all of
the teams here, especially the newest addition
to the America’s Cup family, Team Shosholoza.
We take this opportunity to welcome them, and
wish them the best of luck," Michel Bonnefous
said. "I would also like to thank Nespresso,
who join us as a supporter of 32nd America’s
Cup. Nespresso, along with Louis Vuitton, Endesa
and Grupo Santander are very important to all
of us, and without their support we wouldn’t
be here."
Act 1 of the 32nd America’s Cup,
the Marseille Louis Vuitton Act, runs from the
5th through to the 11th of September combining
Fleet and Match Racing. Due to space restrictions
in the port, entries are limited to eight boats.
The opening of the event park, a parade of sail
through Marseille’s Vieux Port, and practice
racing will take place on Saturday the 4th September.
Many of the America’s Cup Class boats will
arrive on a special ship from Valencia, and
are scheduled to be unloaded in the Port of
Marseille on the 26th August. The fleet of boats,
along with the teams themselves, will form part
of the fabric of the city for the week before
the competition starts. |
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Just
three spaces remain open in Marseille (05/27/04)
(source
: AC
Management)
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With space limited to just eight slots
due to space restrictions, five teams have already
confirmed their intention to race in the first
Act of the 32nd America’s Cup in Marseille
in September.
Just three spots remain open for the Marseille
Louis Vuitton Act after two French teams, as
well as a team from South Africa, signed on
to participate in the first three Acts of the
32nd America’s Cup.
The Defender of the America’s Cup, the
Swiss Alinghi team, and the Challenger of Record,
the U.S. Oracle BMW Racing team, will also race
in Act 1.
The French teams, Le Défi and the K-Challenge,
will both race in front of a home crowd in Act
1, the Marseille Louis Vuitton Act, beginning
the 5th September, 2004, while South Africa’s
Shosholoza team will make its first appearance
in America’s Cup racing in Marseille. The
teams will then come to Valencia, Spain, for
Acts 2 and 3, beginning on the 5th of October.
Stephan Kandler, the CEO of the K-Challenge
says he sees these first races as being very
important to his team.
"We want to race this year for two reasons,"Kandler
said. "First, we want to show our current
sponsors and our potential partners what the
America’s Cup has to offer in Europe. We
want to give them a taste of the Cup, and whet
their appetite for more. Secondly, it’s
an ideal opportunity for us to evaluate some
of the personnel we are recruiting, and to train
our sailors. We’re very excited about it."
Luc Gellusseau, the Operations Manager for Le
Défi agrees. "We want to be part
of this. The America’s Cup is in Europe
and it is important for us to demonstrate what
this means to our partners. With the first Act
being sailed in Marseille, it was a very easy
decision to make."
Gellusseau says the team will be sending one
of its boats, FRA-69, to Valencia early in summer,
and plans to be sailing and training off the
coast of the host city of the 32nd America’s
Cup by the end of June. The team will set up
a ‘mobile’ base there to conduct operations
this year.
For South Africa’s Shosholoza team, the
racing this year will be the first opportunity
for many of its sailors to experience America’s
Cup Class competition.
"We’ve been out training on the boat
off Cape Town since early April,"said Captain
Salvatore Sarno, the head of the South African
team. "I think these first races in Marseille
will remind our team of how much work we still
have to do!"
AC Management will ship each team from Valencia,
Spain, to Marseille, France, and back again.
AC Management will move the race boat, ship’s
tender, three gear containers, and two masts
as part of a package of logistics and shipping
assistance to each America’s Cup team registered
in all three Acts.
Act 1 of the 32nd America’s Cup, the Marseille
Louis Vuitton Act, runs from the 5th through
the 11th of September combining Fleet and Match
Racing. The opening of the event park, a parade
through Marseille’s Vieux Port, and practice
racing will take place on Saturday the 4th September.
Act 2 of the 32nd America’s Cup, the Valencia
Louis Vuitton Act, is a Match Racing event from
the 5th through the 12th October. Act 3 of the
32nd America’s Cup, the second Valencia
Louis Vuitton Act of 2004, is a Fleet Racing
event, from the 14th – 17th of October.
Racing for the 32nd America’s Cup will
continue in 2005 with four more Acts in Europe
and America. |
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America's
Cup Press Conference in June
(05/24/04)
(source
: AC
Management)
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On Monday, 7th June, AC Management, the
event organiser for the 32nd America's Cup,
will host a press conference in Marseille, France
to announce details regarding Act 1 of the 32nd
America's Cup.
The Marseille Louis Vuitton Act, to be sailed
from the 5th - 11th September, 2004, is the
opening Act of the 32nd America's Cup. Michel
Bonnefous, the CEO of AC Management will be
joined by Jean-Claude Gaudin, the Mayor of Marseille.
Representatives from the participating teams
will be available for comment and interviews. |
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2004
Racing calendar revealed in Paris
(03/26/04)
(source
: AC
Management)
|
The first three Acts in the four-year story
of the 32nd America’s Cup will take place during
September and October, 2004, with three regattas
to be sailed at two different venues.
Michel Bonnefous, the CEO of AC Management,
organiser for the America’s Cup, made the announcement
on the occasion of a gala dinner hosted in Paris
by Louis Vuitton.
Hosting the evening was Yves Carcelle, President
of Louis Vuitton, and present among his guests
were, Francisco Camps Ortiz, Presidente de la
Generalitat Valenciana, Rita Barbera, Mayoress
of Valencia, and France Gamerre, Adjoint Mayor
of Marseille.
"The first three Acts of the 32nd America’s
Cup will take place in 2004, several more in
2005 and 2006," Bonnefous explained. "The
climax of any play comes with the final Act,
and in 2007, we will bring you the Louis Vuitton
Cup and the America’s Cup Match, the denouement
of our story".
"But back to 2004, with Act 1 in Marseille,
and Acts 2 and 3 in Valencia - we are sure the
first scenes in this play will be full of characters
and emotion, action, drama, and intrigue, setting
the scene for what is to come later on,” Bonnefous
concluded".
The 2004 Sports Programme
for the 32nd America’s Cup :
5th/11th September (Marseille) : Louis Vuitton
Act 1 of the 32nd America’s Cup (Fleet and Match
Racing)
5th/12th October (Valencia) : Louis Vuitton
Act 2 of the 32nd America’s Cup (Match Racing)
14th/17th October (Valencia) : Louis Vuitton
Act 3 of the 32nd America’s Cup (Fleet Racing)
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