Oracle Named Presenting Sponsor

The world’s largest enterprise software company, Oracle, will be the presenting sponsor of the Allianz Cup, stage five of the 2006-2007 World Match Racing Tour. The official title of the event is Allianz Cup Presented by Oracle. It will be hosted by the St. Francis Yacht Club and racing is scheduled 25-29 October on San Francisco Bay, USA.

The World Match Racing Tour is the world’s leading professional sailing series. The events of the World Tour determine the ISAF Match Racing World Champion, who will be crowned in December 2007. A total of 15 events comprise the 2006-2007 World Tour schedule.

‘It’s great to have Oracle aboard as presenting sponsor of the Allianz Cup,’ said Scott MACLEOD, President of the World Tour. ‘With the great support from our sponsors and partners and a fantastic line up taking shape, this new event of the tour is shaping up to be outstanding.’

A total of 16 teams are planned for the $100,000 event that awards $25,000 to the champion and the entry list features some of the world’s best match racers.

Some Of The World’s Best

Skippers who have accepted invites to the event include Chris DICKSON (NZL), skipper and CEO of BMW ORACLE Racing, Peter GILMOUR (AUS), the reigning ISAF Match Racing World Champion and three-time World Tour champion, Dean BARKER (NZL), the helmsman of Emirates Team New Zealand, Ed BAIRD (USA) and Peter HOLMBERG (ISV), both helmsmen for Alinghi, and Jesper BANK (DEN), the skipper of United Internet Team Germany.

The six skippers have accounted for twelve Match Racing World Championships and 21 career victories on the World Tour. GILMOUR leads the way with four Worlds and eleven career Tour victories.

BMW North America has been named a Main Partner of the Allianz Cup Presented by Oracle. BMW AG is a Partner and Official Car the World Match Racing Tour and is also a partner in the BMW ORACLE Racing Team, the Challenger of Record for the 32nd America’s Cup in 2007.

Shoe manufacturer Sebago and Sailing World magazine are official suppliers of the regatta. Sebago is also a sponsor and Official Footwear of the World Tour. San Francisco based KGO TV and Radio are the official television and radio stations.

Oracle is proud to serve as presenting sponsor in its hometown, San Francisco. And, as a partner in the America’s Cup team, Oracle will support the lone U.S. stop on the World Tour.

World Match Racing Tour Leaderboard
(After Stage Three)

Pos	Skipper	Nation	ISAF World Match Race Ranking	Team	Pts
1	Sébastien COL	FRA	1	Areva Challenge	29
2	Jes GRAM-HANSEN	DEN	16	Mascalzone Latino – Capitalia	27
3	Paolo CIAN	ITA	2	Team Viano Mercedes Benz	25
3	Chris DICKSON	NZL	4	BMW ORACLE Racing	25
5	Ed BAIRD	USA	10	Alinghi	20
5	Jesper BANK	DEN	56	United Internet Team Germany	20
5	Magnus HOLMBERG	SWE	41	Victory Challenge	20
8	Staffan LINDBERG	FIN	11	Alandia Sailing Team	16

World Match Racing Tour Schedule
(2006-2007 Season)

Stage	Event	Venue	Date
Stage 1	Portugal Match Cup	Cascais, Portugal	18-23 July 2006
Stage 2	Danish Open	Copenhagen, Denmark	9-13 August 2006
Stage 3	St. Moritz Match Race	St. Moritz, Switzerland	15-20 August 2006
Stage 4	Bermuda Gold Cup	Hamilton, Bermuda	10-15 October 2006
Stage 5	Allianz Cup	San Francisco, USA	24-29 October
Stage 6	Monsoon Cup	Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia	28 November-3 December 2006
Stage 7	Match Race Germany	Langenargen, Germany	23-28 May 2007
Stage 8	Portugal Match Cup	Cascais, Portugal	01/07/2007
Stage 9	Danish Open	Copenhagen, Denmark	01/08/2007
Stage 10	St. Moritz Match Race	St. Moritz, Switzerland	01/08/2007
Stage 11	ACI Adris Match Race Cup	Rovinj, Croatia	01/09/2007
Stage 12	Locman Cup – Elba Island	Porto Azzurro, Elba Island, Italy	01/09/2007
Stage 13	Brasil Sailing Cup	Angra dos Reis, Brazil	01/10/2007
Stage 14	Bermuda Gold Cup	Hamilton, Bermuda	01/10/2007
Stage 15	Monsoon Cup	Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia	20 November-2 December 2007

The World Match Racing Tour is an ISAF Special Event. Skippers earn points towards the World Championship at the nine events of the World Tour and the highest scoring skipper at the end of the season is the ISAF Match Racing World Champion.

The World Tour Partner and Official Car is BMW AG (Munich, Germany). World Tour sponsors include Sebago (Rockford, USA), the Official Footwear Supplier, Travel Places (West Sussex, Great Britain), the Official Travel Partner and Wedgwood (Cheshire, Great Britain) the Official Trophy Supplier.

For more information on the World Match Racing Tour, its competitors and events, visit the official World Tour website – www.WorldMatchRacingTour.com. World Match Racing Tour television programmes may be viewed on demand by clicking on the television icon on the home page of the website.

For all the news on the World Match Racing Tour CLICK HERE.