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| BMW PARTNERS WITH SWEDISH MATCH TOUR |
| Thursday, 29 July 2004 |
The next Swedish Match Tour champion will win a BMW 545i Touring from Tour partner BMW and $60,000 from the Swedish Match Tour. (BMW AG)
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Swedish Match Tour skippers pose with the BMW 5 Series Touring being offered to the Tour champion by BMW. (Left side, from left) Ed Baird, Chris Law, Geoff Meek, Peter Holmberg, Jesper Radich and Staffan Lindberg (kneeling). (Right side, from right) Philippe Presti, Peter Gilmour, Bertrand Pacé, Russell Coutts and Francisco Neto (kneeling). (Guido Cantini/Sea&See)
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PIerre Tinnerholm, Swedish Match Tour President, and Klaus Kibsgaard, President of BMW Portugal, stand in front of the BMW 5 Series to be awarded to the Swedish Match Tour champion. (Guido Cantini/Sea&See)
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CASCAIS, Portugal (July 29, 2004) — The Swedish Match Tour proudly introduced international automobile manufacturer BMW as the newest partner of the global professional sailing series at an announcement today during the Portugal Match Cup.
BMW, headquartered in Munich, Germany, joins the nine-event Tour as a Partner in a three-year agreement that runs through the completion of the 2006-’07 Tour season.
As the official car of the Swedish Match Tour, BMW will award a BMW 545i Touring to the Tour champion. The BMW 5 Series Touring, valued at Euro 70,000 (approximately $85,000), will be awarded in conjunction with the $60,000 bonus prize offered by the Swedish Match Tour, making the Tour championship worth approximately $145,000.
“We’re very happy to have this association with BMW,” said Pierre Tinnerholm, President of the Swedish Match Tour. “The Tour has built a solid foundation over its first five years, and the addition of BMW helps raise the stature of the Tour.”
The BMW Group, with sales of 41.5 billion Euros (approximately $50.9 billion) in 32 countries, is one of the world’s 10 largest automobile manufacturers.
Founded in 1916, BMW sells more than 1.1 million automobiles annually, including 176,000 MINIs, and almost 93,000 BMW motorcycles. It has 23 production and assembly plants in 14 countries, and more than 100,000 associates.
In becoming a Partner, BMW found many benefits in the Swedish Match Tour. There’s the Tour’s close association with America’s Cup teams, many of which use the Tour for match-racing practice and crew training.
Also, there’s the Tour’s distinction as the most successful professional sailing series, its global presence and the great opportunity to provide international hospitality and customer relationship programs in the different BMW markets.
“Being the most renowned international match-race series in the world, the Swedish Match Tour offers the ideal platform for further reinforcing BMW’s commitment to sailing in the respective countries,” said Klaus Kibsgaard, President of BMW Portugal.
BMW will have a noticeable presence on site at events. The company’s logo will be on the bows of the race boats, and it will provide cars to each event.
“This is an important sponsorship for the Tour,” said Tour director Scott MacLeod. “With a company like BMW aboard it shows that the Tour delivers a solid return on a sponsor’s investment.”
The sixth season of the Swedish Match Tour includes nine events with prize money totaling more than $1 million. The Portugal Match Cup is the first event on the 2004-’05 schedule, and is followed by the Danish Open (Skovshoved, Denmark) Aug. 11-15. Other events are scheduled in Bermuda, Japan, the U.S., Italy, Germany, Croatia and Sweden.
With a gleaming BMW 545i Touring awaiting the Tour champion, every regatta counts. “This is a really exciting development, to have a BMW 545i Touring included as the final prize for the Swedish Match Tour,” said reigning Tour champion Peter Gilmour of Australia, skipper of the Pizza-La Sailing Team.
“Everybody is very determined to win, so it is highly likely you will see some different regatta winners throughout the 2004-’05 Swedish Match Tour. However, the most consistent team will win out. Are we more determined to defend our championship? You bet!”
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RELATED COVERAGE
Swedish Match Tour President Pierre Tinnerholm speech
BMW Portugal President Klaus Kibsgaard speech
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT
Sean McNeill
Swedish Match Tour
Director of Public Relations
Telephone: +1 401 846 8812
Mobile: +1 401 662 1501
Susanne Spatz
BMW Group
Public Relations, Sports communication and PR Programs
Tel: +49 89 382 20961
Fax: +49 89 382 28017
ABOUT THE SWEDISH MATCH TOUR
• The Swedish Match Tour is the leading professional sailing series in the world.
• The Tour offers more than $1 million in overall prize money, with $200,000 divided among the top eight teams in the overall Tour Championship points race.
• The overall Tour champion wins a BMW 545i Touring, a $60,000 bonus and the official Swedish Match Tour championship trophy, produced by Swedish Match Tour sponsor Wedgwood.
• Swedish Match Tour events take place in venues with virtual on-the-water stadiums, which allow general public spectators to follow the races shoreside.
• The Swedish Match Tour produces 155 hours of television coverage reaching more than 426 million households worldwide annually.
• Swedish Match Tour partners include Swedish Match, BMW and the Match Race Association. Swedish Match Tour Official Sponsors include Colorcraft, Wedgwood, Musto and Trident Studios.
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Newsletter - September 2008
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