World Match Tour to visit San Fran

October event will see BMW Oracle and Alinghi skippers line up

Professional sailing comes to San Francisco Bay when the Allianz Cup, the only U.S. event of the World Match Racing Tour, visits the St. Francis Yacht Club for Stage 5 of the 2006-’07 world championship season.

The matchracing regatta is scheduled Oct. 24-29. The line-up features 16 teams, many representing America's Cup syndicates, and will be sailed in 35ft long J/105 one-design yachts.

Global financial services company Allianz Group - through its North American operations Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company, Allianz Global Corporate and Specialties and Allianz Life - is the title sponsor of the event that will award a $100,000 prize purse. The champion earns $25,000. The addition of the Allianz Cup increases the number of stages to 15 in 10 countries on the 2006-’07 World Tour schedule.

Allianz, a leading global financial services company specializing in Asset Management, Insurance and Banking, is fast becoming synonymous with high profile, high-impact global sports sponsorship.

Allianz has a strong association in Formula One, a successful partnership with Europe’s leading sporting arena in Munich and is the main sponsor of the BMW Oracle Racing team, the only U.S. challenger for the America’s Cup.

Jan Carendi, NAFTA board member for Allianz Group, commented: “After the success of the Rockefeller Center sailing exhibit in New York this summer, it is good to highlight and support another sailing event in the U.S. With all the America’s Cup racing in 2007 taking place in Europe, it’s great to be able to bring some of the thrill and excitement of this race to America, and encourage local support for the U.S. team during their quest to bring the Cup home.

“The Allianz Cup in San Francisco, a city known for its sailing heritage, will be a really exciting event for the city and great way of conveying the excitement that is synonymous with the America’s Cup whilst providing a great opportunity for Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company, Allianz Global Corporate and Specialties and Allianz Life, three of our North American operations."

“We’re very grateful to Allianz for its support in helping us bring a stage of the World Tour to the U.S.,” said World Tour President Scott J. MacLeod. “The Tour awards the match-racing world championship, and with all the Cup teams entered in San Francisco the racing will be tight and furious.”

Heading the lineup is New Zealander Chris Dickson, skipper and CEO of the San Francisco-based BMW ORACLE Racing team, the Challenger of Record for next year’s 32nd America’s Cup. Dickson is ranked 3rd in the World Championship standings after winning in July his first stage of the World Tour, the season-opening Portugal Match Cup.

Other confirmed entrants include Ed Baird and Peter Holmberg, two of the helmsmen for Alinghi, the defense syndicate for the America’s Cup. Baird, of the U.S., is tied for 5th in the world championship standings and Holmberg, from the U.S. Virgin Islands, is a past Tour champion (2001-’02).

The current leader of the world championship, Frenchman Sébastian Col, is also entered. The helmsman for France’s Areva Challenge won Stage 2, the Danish Open, in August. The top seven places in the standings are dominated by Cup teams, who find the Tour valuable for crew training.

“With an impressive lineup of America’s Cup skippers, we can expect some tough racing on San Francisco Bay at the Allianz Cup,” said Dickson. “We last raced in San Francisco three years ago at the Moët Cup and experienced great conditions and a terrific turnout of sailing fans along the foreshore of the Bay to watch the racing. BMW Oracle Racing represents Golden Gate Yacht Club so it’s a bonus for us to have the chance to race in our home waters. It will be great to race in the U.S. against top America’s Cup crews only several months out from the start of the Louis Vuitton Cup.”

Match Racing World Championship Standings
(After Stage 3)
1. Sébastian Col (FRA) Areva Challenge, 29 points
2. Jes Gram-Hansen (DEN) Mascalzone Latino – Capitalia Team, 27 points
3. Paolo Cian (ITA) Team Viano Mercedes Benz, 25 points
T. Chris Dickson (NZL) BMW ORACLE Racing, 25 points
5. Ed Baird (USA) Alinghi, 20 points
T. Jesper Bank (DEN) United Internet Team Germany, 20 points
T. Magnus Holmberg (SWE) Victory Challenge, 20 points
8. Staffan Lindberg (FIN) Alandia Sailing Team, 16 points

The World Tour is sanctioned by ISAF, sailing’s world governing body. The World Tour Partner and Official Car is BMW (Munich, Germany). World Tour sponsors include Sebago (Rockford, Mich.), the Official Footwear Supplier, Travel Places (West Sussex, England), the Official Travel Partner, and Wedgwood (Stoke-on-Trent, England), the Official Trophy Sponsor.