2007 ACURA MIAMI GRAND PRIX

--- High Stakes and Renewed Rivalries

February 27, 2007  -- For Immediate Release  

The stakes will be high when the 2007 Acura Miami Grand Prix starts on March 8. For many of the programs, it signals a resumption of their Key West battles. In addition to renewed rivalries and Miami class championships, the Acura Grand Prix Awards will double the race course drama. The Farr 40 class will also have their National Championship at stake.

The Acura Grand Prix Awards will be presented to the boats with the lowest combined cumulative points for Acura Key West and the Acura Miami Grand Prix. Given the stature of both events and the competitiveness of these four grand prix groups, the Farr 40, Mumm 30, Melges 32 and IRC winners will be special champions. 

Vincenzo Onorato’s Mascalzone Latino is the defending Farr 40 2006 Acura Grand Prix Champion. Ernesto Bertarelli’s Alinghi won this year in Key West handily. An America’s Cup warm-up in Miami? Onorato is a Valencia challenger with Cup winning skipper Russell Coutts as his tactician. Bertarelli is the well known defender and has Brad Butterworth as his Miami tactician.

Given a 10 race series with no discard, anything could happen in the Farr 40 class. In addition to Alinghi and Mascalzone Latino, contenders for the Farr 40 2007 Acura Grand Prix award are Flash Gordon, Twins, Opus One and Nerone.

The IRC big boat class is loaded with possibilities. Dan Meyers’ Farr 60 Numbers recent one point Key West win over Edgar Cato’s Hissar in the IRC 1 class has him tied on points with Magic Glove, Colm Barrington’s new Ker 50 (Dublin, Ireland). Magic Glove also had a one point win in IRC 2. TP52’s Samba Pa Ti (John Kilroy) and Windquest (Doug DeVos) were close behind, making them serious contenders for the combined award.

All but one of the sixteen high-performance Melges 32s were on the line in Key West. Italian Claudio Recchi’s impressive win last January makes Let’s Roll the boat to beat. Mike Carroll and Marty Kullman’s New Wave (St. Petersburg, FL), Jeff Ecklund’s Star (Ft. Lauderdale, FL), and Simon Williams’ Fresh Guidance (Newport, RI) are close enough in points to be serious contenders for the combined trophy. Williams has World Champion Bill Hardesty on board in Miami.

Watch for a good battle between the Netherlands based Mean Machine (Peter DeRidder) crew and the Santa Barbara, California crew on Groovederci (Deneen Demourkas). Demourkas is the defending Acura Grand Prix champion and DeRidder is the defending Miami class champ, winning in 2006 by just 2 points. He recently was second in Key West, a tie-breaker away from the class win. The Mumm 30s also race with no discard.

Racing is March 8 – 11 and these high profile classes will all see plenty of action in this 10-race series just south of Miami’s Government Cut.

Information, details and results on the 2007 Acura Miami Grand Prix will be posted on the Premiere Racing web site: www.Premiere-Racing.com

TV and Internet Productions will bring the Miami racing excitement into homes and offices around the world. Acura is sponsoring a special internet production which was available nightly after racing. It can be viewed on www.JobsonSailing.com. Acura Key West films are also available for viewing. A special Jobson Sailing production on the 2007 Acura Miami Grand Prix will air on ESPN 2, Saturday, March 31 at 12:30 PM ET. The Acura Key West 2007 special airs on Sunday, March 11 at 1:30 PM ET.

Acura has been the proud title sponsor and Official Vehicle of SORC and Miami Race Week for the previous 7 years.  Supporting sponsor Mount Gay Rum is the Official Rum.

The Miami Beach Marina is the Official Site for this 2007 grand prix event. The Avalon and South Seas Hotels are the Official Host Hotels.

Shake-A-Leg Miami is the official charity of both the Acura Miami Grand Prix and Acura Key West. For information about them please visit: www.ShakeALegMiami.org

Media Advisory and Registration (pdf)

About Acura
Acura offers a full line of technologically advanced luxury performance vehicles through a nationwide network of more than 260 dealers throughout the United States. The 2007 Acura lineup features five distinctive models, the RL luxury performance sedan, the TL performance luxury sedan, the TSX sports sedan, the turbo-charged RDX luxury sport utility vehicle and the award-winning MDX luxury SUV. For more information about Acura vehicles, please visit www.acura.com  For media inquiries, please go to www.acuranews.com

With the support of the Miami-Dade County Tourist Development Council, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners.

2007 ACURA MIAMI GRAND PRIX

--- World Class Racing Shifts from Key West to Miami Beach

February 7, 2007  -- For Immediate Release            

Key West champions and other top caliber sailing talent are heading for “America’s Riviera” next month. The 2007 Acura Miami Grand Prix (March 8–11) will feature renewed rivalries that originated last January during Acura Key West 2007. Warm Florida ocean waters and hot South Beach nightlife are drawing grand prix programs from around the world and across the U.S.

Three high profile one design classes - the Farr 40, Melges 32 and Mumm 30 - along with a ‘big-boat’ IRC class, will see plenty of action in this 10-race series just south of Miami’s Government Cut.

America’s Cup defender Ernesto Bertarelli and the Alinghi crew will have another defense to contend with – having recently won the ultra competitive Farr 40 class in Key West. This owner driver class is projected to have more boats in Miami with any number of entrants looking to avenge the Swiss walk-away victory last month. Look for Vincenzo Onorato’s Mascalzone Latino, which will have their 2006 World Championship tactician Russell Coutts back onboard, to put pressure on the Key West winner.

The Farr 40 story line will again be an international one with early entrants including Eivind Astrup’s Norwegian Steam (Oslo, Norway), Wolfgang Stolz’s Opus One (Frankfurt, Germany), and Erik Maris’ Twins (Paris, France). Norwegian Steam was a mere point from the class win last year with Onorato a close third, Opus One, Twins, Alesandro Barnaba’s Fiamma (Cala Galera, Italy) and Massimo Mezzaroma’s Nerone (Savona, Italy) all finished in the top ten last year.

The IRC racing action will pick up right where it left off in the deciding last race of the Key West series where Dan Meyers’ Farr 60 Numbers edged sistership Hissar by one point in the IRC 1 class. The scratch boat in Miami will be Hap Fauth’s 2006 Newport to Bermuda winner Bella Mente (J/V 66).

Key West’s top three finishers in a very competitive IRC 2 class - finishing within 4 points of one another - will add intrigue to the Miami handicap racing. Key West champion Magic Glove, Colm Barrington’s new Ker 50 (Dublin, Ireland), will test herself against the 60 footers next month. The TP52’s Samba Pa Ti (John Kilroy) and Windquest (Doug DeVos) will be looking to improve on their 2^nd and 3^rd place finishes and hoping to see planing conditions which were not present in Key West last January.

Last year the Melges 32 class attained one design status in both Key West and Miami. The high performance sportboats enjoyed dramatic growth in 2007 with 20 entries in Key West. The Acura Miami Grand Prix title will be well earned with 2006 Key West Champions Mike Carroll and Marty Kullman’s New Wave (St. Petersburg, FL) and Jeff Ecklund’s Star (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) both boats to watch in this very competitive class.

Monaco’s Peter DeRidder (Mean Machine) will defend his 2006 Mumm 30 class title next month, in what are bound to be some close matches. DeRidder’s team was edged out in Key West by Australian Bruce Eddington (Southern Sun) on a tie breaker. Deneen Demourkas (Groovederci) and her Santa Barbara, CA based crew have the top spot in their sights as they renew their close rivalry with DeRidder. They were second to Mean Machine last year in Miami, and just missed 3^rd in Key West on a tie-breaker, with the Monaco team taking second.

The Acura Grand Prix Awards will be presented to the boats with the lowest combined cumulative points for Acura Key West and the Acura Miami Grand Prix in their respective classes. Given the stature of both events and the competitiveness of these four grand prix classes, these four recipients will be special champions. Perpetual awards are in the offing to the Farr 40, Mumm 30, Melges 32 and IRC classes. Mascalzone Latino is the defending Farr 40 Acura Grand Prix Champion, and Groovederci is the Mumm 30 Champion.

Information, details and results on the 2007 Acura Miami Grand Prix will be posted on the Premiere Racing web site: www.Premiere-Racing.com

Acura has been the proud title sponsor and Official Vehicle of SORC and Miami Race Week for the previous 7 years.  Supporting sponsor Mount Gay Rum is the Official Rum.

The Miami Beach Marina is the Official Site for this 2007 grand prix event. The Avalon and South Seas Hotels are the Official Host Hotels.

The first entry deadline (for no late fee) is February 9.

Event details, entries and past results are available at www.Premiere-Racing.com

Shake-A-Leg Miami is the official charity of both the Acura Miami Grand Prix and Acura Key West. For information about them please visit: www.ShakeALegMiami.org

Media Advisory and Registration (pdf)

About Acura
Acura offers a full line of technologically advanced luxury performance vehicles through a nationwide network of more than 260 dealers throughout the United States. The 2007 Acura lineup features five distinctive models, the RL luxury performance sedan, the TL performance luxury sedan, the TSX sports sedan, the turbo-charged RDX luxury sport utility vehicle and the award-winning MDX luxury SUV. For more information about Acura vehicles, please visit www.acura.com  For media inquiries, please go to www.acuranews.com

With the support of the Miami-Dade County Tourist Development Council, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners.

ACURA MIAMI RACE WEEK ANNOUNCES 2007 CHANGES
----- SORC Renaissance to continue with revised format
 

UPDATED ENTRY INFORMATION

The “SORC Renaissance”, which established credibility following the successful 2005 and 2006 events, will continue. "We can appreciate the logistical challenges Premiere Racing is faced with in South Florida and are very excited that Acura and Premiere have decided to continue the SORC tradition next March,” said Farr 40 Class President Jim Richardson. “The Miami Beach venue is superb for our class and a big part of the Winter schedule for visiting overseas owners as well as the many North American owners who travel south and east for the winter season.”

“The legendary SORC played a meaningful role in our sport over the years and we would like nothing better than to continue to grow this event,” said Premiere Racing’s Peter Craig. “Despite the logistical challenges that have been presented, both Acura and Premiere Racing are committed to a top-tier 2007 regatta as we evaluate and pursue solutions going forward.”
 

At the same time, recent one design class decisions have ruled out racing on Biscayne Bay for 2007. The Etchells class, representing half of the Biscayne Bay fleet, has changed their winter series dates and moved their Mid-Winter’s to within four days of Acura Miami Race Week, citing the 2007 Super Bowl in Miami as the reason for the schedule change.
 

“Peter has kept us apprised of the developing logistical issues since he took over back in 2004," said SORC spokesman Buck Gillette. "The reality is that there are only two options for 2007– discontinuing the event or changing the format at least for the short term. We’re very pleased that the legacy of SORC will continue as we collectively seek solutions to the issues at hand.”