Volvo back Swiss match racing

Swedish car manufacturer will be behind St Moritz Match Race and a qualifying event

Volvo Cars Switzerland has signed up as a co-sponsor of St Moritz Match Race. Volvo will also become the title-partner of the Volvo Match Race Zoug, a qualifying race, providing the opportunity to a Swiss team to qualify directly for St Moritz Match Race. The eighth St Moritz Match Race will take place on 31 August–3 September while the Volvo Match Race Zug  is on 28-30 May.

Volvo has been supporting the sport of sailing for over a decade. Its main involvement is with the Volvo Ocean Race, the race around the world for crews with stopovers.

“We are pleased to support these events at the highest level”, commented Anouk Poelmann, the President of Volvo Cars Switzerland. “The possibility given to a Swiss team to qualify directly for St. Moritz Match Race gives us the opportunity to also support the sport on a national scale.”

St. Moritz Match Race’s qualifying regatta, Volvo Match Race Zug, will reassemble the who’s who of match racing in Switzerland. Team Monnin, who regularly competes in international events at the highest level will sail against some teams who have never raced abroad. Among those registere are Jerôme Clerc, from Société Nautique de Genève and talented Laser Radial sailor Nathalie Brugger, who finished 6th in the last Olympic Games in Beijing.

“I am very pleased to see a car manufacturer involved in sailing at the highest level also supporting the sport in Switzerland," commented Christian Scherrer, President of the Organising Committee. “The Volvo Match Race Zug gives us the opportunity to help promote new talented teams and to give them the chance to compete in an international regatta at the highest level.”

Provisional list of participants - Volvo Match Race Zug (28.-30.05.2010)
Eric Monnin, YCI, Swiss Match Race Team (3rd St. Moritz Match Race 2008)
Jerome Clerc, SNG
Roger Stocker, ZYC
Marcel Walser, ZYC
Lukas Erni, RCO
Nathalie Brugger, CVE (6th Olympic Games, Beijing)
Alexa Bezel, SVT
Nathalie Keller, TYC