Team Espana gets a backer

MAPFRE steps in as title sponsor for Volvo Ocean Race's Spanish team

MAPFRE, the global insurance giant, will be backing the Spanish challenge in the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 to complete the fleet’s line-up of title sponsors with just over a week to go before the event’s launch.

The company is already well known as leading supporters of sailing and confirmed its support of skipper Iker Martínez’s challengers on Friday ahead of the race’s opening event, the Alicante in-port race on 4 October.

“Being the main sponsor of a campaign like this is an exceptional opportunity,” said MAPFRE vice-president Antonio Núñez. “The experience of the team and its excellent crew are great to represent a brand like MAPFRE all round the world. We thank them for their effort to compete in this adventure and we wish them all the best.”

The Madrid-based company’s timely announcement has delighted the Spanish team’s CEO Pedro Campos who has worked with them on several previous campaigns in other events.

“We are pleased and grateful to MAPFRE for its support in this new great adventure competing in the Volvo Ocean Race representing Spain,” said Campos. “MAPFRE has been supporting sailing for years and we have already worked together in big campaigns. Without a doubt, we will do our best to get MAPFRE and Spain in the highest place we possibly can."

Although the Spanish team was only announced in the middle of the year, most expect them to be competitive in the one-design Volvo Ocean 65 boat with Martínez and long-term sailing partner and best friend Xabi Fernández spearheading their challenge.

The crew is mainly formed by Spaniards but it also boasts some leading international sailors including André Fonseca, the only Brazilian in the fleet, and two time Vendee Globe winner Michel Desjoyeaux.

With just over a week before the event starts, Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad was equally pleased to welcome the final title sponsor of a highly competitive seven-strong fleet.

“This is great news for the race and we’re delighted to see MAPFRE join our family of title sponsors,” said Frostad. “We know this global company has a love of sailing and shares many common values with us, putting people at the heart of everything it does. It is backing a very strong crew which has already shown it will be competitive in what I believe will be another extremely closely contested race.”