The Maserati team and Giovanni Soldini retain lead of Cape2Rio
Maserati continues her gallop across the South Atlantic well out in front of the rest of the fleet in the Cape2Rio Yacht Race. Maserati is now 2,000 miles off Rio de Janeiro. She is also pulling even clearer of her two main rivals: the Australian 53′ Scarlet Runner is now lagging 300 miles behind the Italian boat in second place while the South African Open 60 Explora is 600 miles in her wake.
“We are making 16 knots in an 18-knot wind,” said Giovanni Soldini. “We gybed north to try to find a bit more air. When we gybe south, however, we get nearer to the best possible route. It’s a constant compromise between following an efficient route and having wind. We’ve had a tear in the mainsail for a few days now and we’re keeping an eye on that. Pierre Casiraghi has proved himself a very good helmsman into the bargain. We have a very nice rhythm aboard now. The crew are working very well together and the boat is on form too.”
The Cape2Rio YachtRace is the longest race between two southern hemisphere continents, spanning 3,300 nautical miles between Cape Town and Rio de Janeiro. The current record is held by the American 74’ maxi Zephyrus IV – she completed the race in just 12 days, 16 hours and 49 minutes in 2000.
Maserati is skippered by Giovanni Soldini and manned by a highly experienced, tightknit international crew: Italians Guido Broggi, Corrado Rossignoli and Michele Sighel; German Boris Herrmann; Spaniard Carlos Hernandez; French sailors Jacques Vincent and Gwen Riou; Dane MartinKirketerp Ibsen; and, for the first time, Pierre Casiraghi of Monaco.
MASERATI Maserati’s support of and participation in this important Italian sporting and technological challenge underscores the company’s role as a world ambassador for Italian excellence. Maserati itself continues that renowned tradition of excellence each and every day in 65 countries worldwide, through hugely successful luxury cars of the likes of the Quattroporte, the GranTurismo, the GranCabrio and the brand-new Ghibli, whose performance on the road mirrors the achievements of Giovanni Soldini and Maserati on the water.
With around € 72.5 billion of asset management and 140 years of history, BSI is one of the oldest and most important banks in Switzerland. Established in Lugano in 1873, BSI is specialised in private wealth management. Since 1998, the Bank has been wholly owned by the Generali Group, one of the most significant participants in the global insurance andfinancial products market. The Bank places great emphasis on establishing and maintaining ongoing personal relationships with clients, while at the same time offering global asset management services with world-class products. BSI is present in the major financial markets worldwide, in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Asia.
The Generali Group is one of Europe’s largest insurance providers and its largest life assurer, with a total premium income in 2012 of €70 billion. With 80,000 employees worldwide and 65 million clients in more than 60 countries, the Group occupies a leadership position on Western European markets and is playing an increasingly important role too in Central and Eastern Europe, and Asia.
The official suppliers to the challenge are Zegna Sport (clothing), Vodafone Italia(telecommunication services and official website development) and Boero Bartolomeo S.p.A.(speciaist hull paints and enamels).
The Ermenegildo Zegna Group is a leading luxury menswear brand and one of the most renowned businesses in Italy. Founded in 1910, the company is currently managed by the fourth generation of the Zegna family, with over 540 branded stores in more than 100 countries around the world. The Zegna Sport collection was launched in 1999 as a line of clothing in which functionality, style and advanced technology are the basic ingredients for a high-performance wardrobe. Initially created for sports activities, the contemporary evolution of the collection delivers a total look that is perfect for today’s metropolitan lifestyle.
Vodafone Italia is part of the Vodafone Group, one of the world’s leading mobile communications groups, serving over 404 million clients. The Vodafone Group has a direct presence in more than 30 countries as well as network partnership deals in a further 50. In Italy, Vodafone boasts around 7,500 employees, 8 Competence Centers and in excess of 7,000 stores.
Also aboard Maserati are Eataly (provisioning), Beta Utensili> (all professional tools),Corderia Lancelin (specialist lines and cables), Jeppesen (cartography), B&G Navico (technical assistance with onboard instrumentation), Cantiere Picchiotti of La Spezia (Maserati’s home base ashore), and the La Spezia Port Authority(Maserati’s home port afloat).
