Audi Sailing Team powered by ALL4ONE during their first Audi MedCup Season / Marseille / June 2010. Image copyright Franck Socha.
* Three-year contract with Audi as a naming right partner of the team completed
* German-French pro team starts in the Audi MedCup and in the TP52 World Championship
* With a new TP-52 construction, the team aims to position itself among the top 3 sailing teams
* Juniors from the Audi Sailing Team Germany will be introduced to the professional class
* Partnership with the Kiel Week
* Media partnership with Canal+ Group
by Stephanie Nadin
The German-French sailing platform "ALL4ONE" led by Jochen Schümann will start in the forthcoming season under the name "Audi Sailing Team powered by ALL4ONE" in the Audi MedCup. After a year of learning on a chartered yacht, which ended with two 2nd places at the Audi MedCup Regatta's in Cascais (Portugal) and Cagliari (Sardinia) and a 3rd Place in Marseille (France), the team, with the support of the naming sponsor Audi, set the sails for the future. During these weeks the body of a new TP52 racing yacht is manufactured in Sydney. The completion of the boat, which components are manufactured in Australia, Italy, New Zealand and the United States will be at the end of March in Europe. The first sail training will be held early May in Valencia (Spain) before mid-May when the team will compete for the first Audi MedCup points.
High are the expectations for the coming season. To this end the three-time Olympic champion and two-time America's Cup Winner Jochen Schümann: "First of all, we are glad that, thanks to our new contract with Audi, we can start next season in the Audi MedCup. With our new TP52, we want to attack again and our objective is to get both in the top 3 in the overall standings and at least to win one of the five MedCup events!" Another highlight of the racing calendar of the Audi Sailing Team will be the participation in the World Championship of TP52s. Here, too, the German- French pro team is aiming for a 3rd place finish.
Jochen Schümann in Sydney, Australia, following the building of new Audi Sailing Team powered by ALL4ONE's boat at McConaghy. Image copyright Audi Sailing Team.
The team composition is already decided. For this purpose, Stephan Kandler, CEO of ALL4ONE: "From a purely personnel point of view, we won't change too much next season: Jochen Schümann is our helmsman, and Sebastien Col (33 year old, France) will be our tactician. There are no reasons to make big changes. The 3-year partnership with Audi and their trust in our capabilities are great news for ALL4ONE, which will now be able to work in the best conditions: continuity, permanent base in Valencia, a media partnership and a new competitive boat. It is a great recognition for our team and the huge amount of work from all of our team after a great first season in 2010 on the Audi MedCup and the Louis Vuitton Trophy. It is a major step in our goal to become one of the leading sailing teams and to win the most demanding challenges".Regarding the integration of additional young talents, the team is taking new routes. Three-times Olympic champions Jochen Schümann describes the strategy as follows: "With our "A Dream Comes True" initiative, we want to allow the German sailing youth to enter big-boat sailing, that means we will give young talents from the Audi Sailing Team Germany, the German national sailing team, the opportunity to train with us and partake at boat deliveries. It would be great if, via this talent scouting exercise during the years, we could find u30 or even u25 sailors for the TP, and maybe even a helmsman who could become my successor."
Besides the partnership with title sponsor Audi, the Audi Sailing Team also concluded a cooperation with the Kiel Week. In order to further increase the awareness of the Kiel Week as one of the largest racing events in the world, also in the Mediterranean world, the team will start at the regatta's of the Audi MedCup with a spinnaker in the design of the Kiel Week.
Audi Sailing Team powered by ALL4ONE will also be supported by the Canal+ Group, which is renewing its media partnership with ALL4ONE. Daily news and programmes dedicated to Audi Sailing Team powered by ALL4ONE, as well as a final magazine, will be broadcasted for each of the Audi MedCup events, as well as the TP52 World Championship on the Canal+ Group TV channels and their web site. Canal+ Group and ALL4ONE are partners since 2004.
ALL4ONE Challenge
