October 19, 2006 ABN AMRO ONE, the winner of the 2005-6 Volvo Round-the-world Ocean Race will sail in the 2006 Rolex Sydney–Hobart Yacht Race. The world-class race begins its 62nd running on December26 and takes the fleet out of spectacular Sydney Harbour then down the East Coast of Australia, across treacherous Bass Strait finishing in Hobart, Tasmania. The crew has its sights firmly on line honours and a race record if the conditions suit the wide-transom boat. The current race record of 42 hours, 14 minutes and 10 seconds is held by Wild Oats.
Kiwi, Mike Sanderson, who also skippered the boat to victory in the Volvo Ocean Race, will be joined by a combination of sailors from the whole ABN AMRO team. This includes Australians Nick Bice (ABN AMRO TWO), Neil Cox (ABN AMRO shore crew), Phil Harmer and fellow kiwis Brad Jackson (ABN AMRO ONE), Scott Beavis (ABN AMRO TWO) and Matt Stechmann (ABN AMRO shore crew)
Mike Sanderson commented: “It is great for us to be back on this side of the world with ABN AMRO ONE. This is a fantastic event and it will be great to get out on the water and let the boat get back in her stride. I think we may well be due for a blowy race, so it could be very interesting – it is always good to get a fleet of big boats offshore in the conditions they were made for and race against each other. I am looking forward to it.”
ABN AMRO has announced that it will not enter the 2008-2009 Volvo Ocean Race. ABN AMRO's participation with two boats in the 2005-2006 round-the-world race was a huge sporting and marketing success. This was ABN AMRO's first global sponsorship project aimed at uniting the worldwide territories of the bank, raising global awareness of the brand and introducing the global tagline 'Making more possible'.
ABN AMRO ONE achieved overall race victory when it arrived in Gothenburg on 17th June 2006 with six offshore leg wins out of nine, and five out of seven in-port race victories. This was undoubtedly one of the most outstanding performances in the history of the Volvo Ocean Race. ABN AMRO TWO finished in an impressive fourth place overall, as well as breaking the world 24 hour speed record during the event.
The campaign's primary objectives were to involve employees from all key territories around the world, achieve worldwide brand exposure, create a platform for client hospitality, communicate the core values of the bank to a global audience, and win the race. All objectives were achieved during the race.
Jan Berent Heukensfeldt Jansen, Managing Director of TEAM ABN AMRO commented: "The Volvo Ocean Race has been a great marketing platform for us and its impact will continue long into the future. We entered the Volvo Ocean Race as a three year, one-off campaign to meet specific objectives, promoting the unity and strength of the ABN AMRO brand to a glo bal audience. We did everything we could to win the race, and with a combination of teamwork and professionalism TEAM ABN AMRO travelled the world reflecting all that the bank stands for. The results of the campaign confirm that all our objectives have been met, which is largely thanks to the outstanding effort made by the large number of people involved. The Volvo Ocean Race is a unique event with a global following, and one which we are very proud to have been part of."
ABN AMRO ONE crew list:Mike Sanderson, (NZ) Skipper ABN AMRO ONEStan Honey, (USA) Navigator ABN AMRO ONEBrad Jackson, (NZ) ABN AMRO ONEJustin Slattery (IRE) ABN AMRO ONEBrian MacInnes (USA) ABN AMRO ONEGeorge Peet, (USA) ABN AMRO TWOScott Beavis, (NZ) ABN AMRO TWONick Bice (AUS) ABN AMRO TWONeil Cox (AUS) shore crew TEAM ABN AMROMatt Stechmann (NZL) shore crew TEAM ABN AMROPhil Harmer (AUS)Emma Sanderson (UK) ABN AMRO ONE will be in Sydney harbour from approx 18th December. Journalists who would like to look around the boat, interview the crew and request a place on board if the boat goes sailing please contact Camilla Green on: camilla@pitchpr.co.uk
About TEAM ABN AMRO
Netherlands-based ABN AMRO is a leading international bank with total assets of EUR 899.3 billion. It has over 3,000 branches in more than 60 countries and territories, and has a staff of about 98,000 full-time equivalents worldwide. ABN AMRO is listed on the Euronext and New York stock exchanges.
The Volvo Ocean Race (originally the Whitbread Round the World Race), which started in Vigo, Northern Spain on Saturday 12 November 2005 and finished in Gothenburg on 17th June 2006, has taken place every four years since its inception in 1973. The fleet covered 30,000 miles and all five continents stopping in the following ports: Cape Town, Melbourne, Wellington, Rio, Baltimore/Annapolis, New York, Portsmouth and Rotterdam. ABN AMRO ONE won the Volvo Ocean Race 2005 – 2006 convincingly with two legs in hand, and proudly lifted the ‘Fighting Finish’ Trophy in Gothenburg in June.