Volvo Ocean Race in India; Kochi to host the celebrated race

Volvo Ocean Race – the biggest yacht race in the world and one of the largest sporting event across the world- sails its way for the first time on Indian shores. An ultimate mix of world class sporting competition and on the edge adventure, Volvo Ocean Race is a unique blend of onshore glamour with offshore drama and endurance. The eight yachts will challenge the vociferous tides and dock at India’s coast Kochi, the first Asian port, from the 3rd to the 13th of December, before starting leg three to Sentosa Island in Singapore. The Cochin Port Trust, which will be responsible for organizing the stopover, with the full backing of the Kerala Tourism Department.

QUICK FACTS

Stop-over Ports:
Alicante, Cape Town, Kochi, Singapore, Qingdao, Rio De Janeiro, Boston, Galway, Marstrand, Stockholm, St. Petersburg

Team for 2008-09:
Ericsson Racing Team 1, Ericsson Racing Team 2, Puma Ocean Race, Telefonica Blue, Telefonica Black, Team Russia, Green Dragon Team, Dutch team Delta Lloyd with sail number NED-1

Special edition cars:
XC90, XC70 and V70 with more exclusive design and marine aura enhanced by the Ocean Blue livery in combination with exterior details in chrome.
(Also available in Electric Silver)

Reach:
Attracts about 1.8 billion TV viewers, making it one of the world’s prime sports event

Extreme conditions
Crews experience life in its extreme form- no fresh food, temperature variations from -5 to +40 degrees Celsius, sleep deprivation and everything that you can imagine in extreme

Facebook community
Volvo Ocean Race is catching up the momentum in India with an exclusive online community – Volvo Ocean Race, Life at the extreme!
www.facebook.com

Commenting on the announcement, Mr. Paul de Voijs, Managing Director, Volvo Car India said, “It has always been part of Volvo’s vision to take the race to different and wider audiences and we are delighted that India has become part of that vision. Including Kochi as one of the stopovers further reinforces Volvo’s commitment to the Indian market. India has hundreds of millions of enthusiastic sports fans and we know they will enjoy this challenging and spectacular race, with its passion, teamwork, adventure and excitement.”

“The Volvo Ocean Race reflects the values that our customers look for when they choose a car. It’s all about an active lifestyle, adventure and passion – in short its living life at the extreme,”
Mr. de Voijs further added.

The new Volvo Ocean Race car edition encompasses three models: the Volvo V70, Volvo XC70 and Volvo XC90 in ocean blue and electric colors.

It is the first time that India is hosting such a prestigious sailing event and Cochin will be the only port of call in India. The seven yachts participating in the race will arrive in Cochin in December 2008 and will stay for 10 days, before starting leg three to Sentosa Island in Singapore. A race village covering 2.5 acres of land will be set up near the BTP berth at Willingdon Island.

The 2008-09 expedition will be the 10th run of this ocean marathon. Starting from Alicante in Spain, on the 4th October, the race will span some 39,000 nautical miles, halting at 11 ports over a period of nine months. For the first time in the event’s history, the race will look at visiting new ports along a new route that include ports in the middle-east, India and Asia.
The race is an exceptional test of sailing prowess which takes competitors across some of the most treacherous waters in the world. For ocean racing sailors, the Volvo Ocean Race represents the pinnacle of achievement. The world’s top offshore sailors and the sport’s rising stares team up for a wild ride around the planet, racing in the roughest oceans and most dangerous weather nature has to offer.