Fresh backing for Soldini

Zegna on board as Fiat boss John Elkann joins Giovanni Soldini's crew for the Transpac

Giovanni Soldini's next challenge at the helm of his modified VO70 Maserati will be the 47th Transpac Race. The campaign was presented today in Milan. On board with Soldini will be a nine-strong crew, including Fiat Chairman, John Elkann.

At his company's headquarters in Milan, Gildo Zegna, CEO of the Ermenegildo Zegna Group, the new clothing partner of the Maserati team, welcomed Soldini, Elkann and the partners Maserati (main sponsor), BSI and Generali.

The Transpac a 2,225 mile long race from Los Angeles to Honolulu, open to both monohulls and multihulls, with a variety of scheduled starts the first on 8 July. A total of 52 yachts are entered, seven in the same class as Maserati, which sets off on 13 July.

Giovanni Soldini's crew remains an international one comprising on this occasion - Guido Broggi, Boris Herrmann, Corrado Rossignoli, Jianghe 'Tiger' Teng, Gwenael Riou, Carlos Hernandez, Michele Sighel and John Elkann.

The monohull race record at present is held by Alfa Romeo, skippered by Neville Crichton, with a time of 5 days, 14 hours and 36 minutes.

"First of all, I would like to thank my partners, Maserati, BSI, Generali, Vodafone and Boero, who haveconfirmed that next year they will again be supporting Maserati's challenges," said Soldini. "And my thanks also go to the Ermenegildo Zegna Group, which is now part of this adventure. Maserati is in great shape. After two months' work in the boatyard in San Francisco, she is ready for a new, particularly interesting challenge since this is the first time she will be sailing in a regatta against other competitors. The crew is basically the same as that of the New York-San Francisco record, with a few new members, allowing us to form a larger group with experience of Maserati. I'm also glad that John Elkann will be on board with us: I've crossed an ocean with him, he has a great passion for sea and sailing. We're ready, we can't wait to set sail."