German luxury carmaker, Audi, has officially confirmed its 2008 major event program as part of the company’s commitment to sailing in Australia.

Audi’s managing director, Joerg Hofmann, said the company is keen to get back out on the water in 2008 with its major event partners in Melbourne, Sydney and QLD including Skandia Geelong Week, the Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta and Audi
Hamilton Island Race Week in the Whitsundays.

‘Audi has been very successful in Australia, with year-on-year record growth since 2004. One of the positive outcomes of this success is that we are able to support key events and regattas in Australia. We see our Audi Sailing Sport commitments as a key part of our future growth strategy,” Mr Hofmann said.

“It was only two years ago that we set ourselves a goal in Australia to be the major partner of competitive sailing events.

“We have now achieved this goal and will continue in 2008 with our comprehensive Audi Sailing Sport calendar to continue to boost the profile of the sport down under, and of course to showcase the Audi brand and product to the sailing community here,” Mr Hofmann added.

Audi IRC Australian Championship, January to August 2008
First and foremost in the company’s 2008 sailing event calendar is the kick off of the second Audi IRC Australian Championship. The national champion, who will be announced at the end of August 2008 will again win an Audi Q7 sports performance
SUV – the largest prize in sailing in the country. Endorsed by Yachting Australia, the Audi IRC Australian Championship is a highly competitive, international standard event based on a pointscore system that links four key Audi–supported regattas. Click here to download the NOR.

Skandia Geelong Week, 24 – 28 January 2008
The first Audi IRC Australian Championship leg is at Skandia Geelong Week, where Audi is also the official car partner. With a fleet of around 450 competitors, this first event promises to be an exciting start to the year of sailing for the luxury carmaker.

Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta, 1 – 3 March 2008
Next up on the calendar is the Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta – still the largest sailing event on Sydney Harbour since the 2000 Olympic Games with more than 250 yachts competing. The Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta is also the jewel in the crown of the
high-profile Sydney Harbour Week celebrations.

Audi and the CYCA, 7 March & 26 July 2008
Audi has again partnered with the CYCA for two major offshore regattas including the new Audi Sydney Offshore Newcastle Yacht Race in March and the well-established and popular Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race in July. Audi is also a major sponsor of the Youth Sailing Academy at the CYCA.

Audi Winter Series, April to June 2008
Audi is also once again the title sponsor of the CYCA’s long-running and highly successful Winter Series.

Audi Hamilton Island Race Week, 23 – 30 August 2008
Further north, Audi Hamilton Island Race Week, now in its 25th year, represents the culmination of the 2008 Audi Sailing Sport season, and this year organisers hope to see more than 230 boats competing at a very high level.

“With Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta, Audi Hamilton Island Race Week and Skandia Geelong Week, along with two offshore regattas and the high profile Audi Winter Series, Audi is undoubtedly the largest corporate partner of competitive sailing in Australia,” Mr Hofmann confirmed.

“Around 1,000 boats and thousands of sailors will compete in Audi-sponsored events in 2008 in these regattas alone. This represents a large investment for Audi in this
country.”

Australian Sailing Team
Also a key part of the company’s support of sailing is its sponsorship of the Australian
Sailing Team AST. Now with Beijing 2008 in their sights, Australia’s elite sailors, cosponsored by Audi and Hamilton Island, are busily campaigning locally and overseas as
they prepare for the ultimate goal – winning gold for Australia. As official car partner of the AST, Audi provides vehicles for the athletes during their major events around the world.

“Audi and the sport of sailing are an excellent fit, linked by innovation in design, technology and performance. And perhaps even more impressive is the spirit and passion of the sailors who compete in our events,” Mr Hofmann said.

“Constant innovation and fierce competition drives the best sailors to consistently challenge the old ways of doing things, and this is a perfect reflection of Audi’s 100-plus years of innovation,” he added.

2008 Audi Sailing Sport calendar
January – August Audi IRC Australian Championship
24 – 28 January Skandia Geelong Week & first Audi IRC Australian
Championship event
1 – 3 March Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta
7 March Audi Sydney Offshore Newcastle Yacht Race
April – July Audi Winter Series
26 July Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race
22 – 30 August Audi Hamilton Island Race Week
Ongoing Australian Sailing Team, major co-sponsor
Ongoing CYCA Youth Sailing Academy, sponsored by Audi