10 teams have already confirmed their entry in the Barcelona World Race and some other ones are on the final sprint towards confirming sponsorship contracts.
Jean-Pierre Dick, the first edition’s brilliant winner, was the first to announce his participation and the first to officially sign up for the regatta, with his brand new Virbac-Paprec 3.
Next to join the fleet was Alex Thomson, with Hugo Boss.
The first two Spanish teams to sign up, have confirmed that they will be made up of Alex Pella and Pepe Ribes on Estrella Damm and Pachi Rivero and Toño Piris on W Hotels.
“Le Professeur”, Michel Desjoyeaux announced that he would also be taking the start on the 31st of December, as well as another two Spanish teams, one with Iker Martínez and Xabi Fernández and another with Juan Merediz and Francisco Palacios.
The Basque pair Iker and Xabi have one of the highest sporting profiles of a team in the regatta. They are well-known in the 49er Olympic class, in which they have a gold medal from Athens 2004, a silver from Beijing 2008 and three World Championships, as well as being experienced offshore sailors including two Volvo Ocean Race campaigns in 2005 with Movistar and in 2008 with Telefónica Blue.
Juan Merediz and Francisco Palacios are from the northern Spanish region of Asturias. This team is a model the Barcelona World Race hopes to repeat in the future: the experience of an ocean sailor, coupled with the excitement of a less-experienced sailor with a lot of potential ahead. Juan is seasoned in Mini-Transat racing and the Solitaire du Figaro, and the Barcelona World Race means reaching a career milestone and achieving a dream. For Francisco, who is just 26 years old, the experience means boosting his CV at the start of his career with an impressive entry: the double-handed race around the world.
Another international entry was recently announced, that of Dee Caffari and Anna Corbella, that will be sponsored by GAES Solidaria, is the first all female crew to take part in the Barcelona World Race. Britain’s Dee Caffari has already completed two circumnavigations of the globe: the Vendée Globe 2008-09, and she holds the record for solo sailing East-West (going against the prevailing winds)- she is also the first woman to have sailed solo around the world in both directions. Last year Anna Corbella became the first Spanish woman to sail a Mini-Transat, and as a consequence was voted Spain’s sailor of the year. Hailing from Catalunya, Anna is one of Spain’s most promising ocean sailors and the formation of this partnership with Dee Caffari is also the realisation of a dream that Anna has been working intensely towards for the last few years.
To add to the list is the ninth entry, also recently announced, made up of Albert Bargués and Eric Villalón on board ESP 33 – Educación sin Fronteras / Zero Limits, a duo which has yet to complete the qualifying process, but has already presented the race organizers with their completed registration dossier.
The tenth team signed up cannot yet be named, for reasons relating to their marketing strategy, but will be announced in May. All we can reveal at this point is that the skippers are European.
There are also four other teams in the final stages towards signing sponsorships. During the coming months, their identities will be revealed…
FOR ALL THE TEAMS REGISTERED TO THE BARCELONA WORLD RACE:
Reimbursement of Entry Fees : 50% the 31st December 2010, once the boat crosses the start line; the other 50% at the prize giving.
Team zone on Official Website: each team will have their own page on the Barcelona World Race website, with comprehensive content, images, videos and logos on your team, sponsor, etc.
All possible efforts will be made to ensure that your team’s sponsor brand is made as visible as possible to the public in the media, the race village the VIP infrastructures, and online.
Free use of the Barcelona World Race logo and brand identity for communications, team clothing, etc. Obviously any usage for commercial purposes must be discussed with the organization.
The cost of transmission of video footage and video conferences, to the Race Headquarters, up to a total cost of $5,000 US Dollars (or the equivalent with minutes) per boat will be paid for by the Race Organiser. It is expected that TV footage will need to be provided in HD format.
The following infrastructures will be provided for each team:
Availability of a 25 square metre area inside the Race Village should your sponsor wish to have a display stand, free of cost. A bigger area can be discussed at a discounted price.
Discounted rate for usage of the high quality VIP hospitality facilities built in Barcelona
Full active international media & PR service in place for the event working not only to delivery media coverage for the event but also for each team
Free mooring in the Port of Barcelona for at least the 15 days before race start, and 15 days after race finish. Pontoons will have fresh water, electricity and WiFi Internet available free of cost
Free technical work space: each team will be provided sufficient space to park 1 car and 1 van in the Technical area, and the space for one 40ft container (or two 20ft containers). Other special requirements can be negotiated.
Free office desk space will be offered for 2 people per team (Team Manager and PR person)
Hotels: the official accommodation agency for the event will be available to make your hotel reservations and give advice
From
Contacts Teams :
Anne-Sophie Lefeuvre
Tél / Phone : +34 646 430 400
teams@barcelonaworldrace.org