We are also looking very much forward to competing with last year’s America's Cup winner Team Alinghi. For the BMW Group, sports sponsorship is taken very seriously, as this must promote and underscore our brand values. And the criteria are the following: The chosen sport has to be a perfect match for the BMW brand. We have to be able to show our strengths and core competencies in any such commitment. And of course, we need to see that our commitment has a positive long-term effect on the image of the BMW brand. BMW stands for dynamic. BMW is extraordinarily innovative. BMW is sophisticated. BMW is a company with a passion for excellence. The America’s Cup is not only the supreme discipline of sailing, but a team sport characterised by great passion and sportsmanship. It is all about using state-of-the-art technology to brave the elements. Our strengths have been applied to advance the BMW ORACLE Racing Team for a few years now. Our creative input has been crucial in constructing the most recent boats. A good example here is the keel fin of the yachts that raced in the 32nd America’s Cup. Another example is our vast expertise in automotive light-weight construction that was successfully transferred to boat building. Light-weight construction is a crucial element in our EfficientDynamics strategy. By applying different EfficientDynamics technologies, we increase both our cars’ performance and efficiency. For instance, intelligent light-weight construction helps us replace heavy components by new, innovative materials, thus achieving a weight reduction for our cars. Boat building also stands to benefit from this competence in intelligent light-weight construction. You could say that our innovative program-EfficientDynamics is finding its way into yachtsports. Our BMW light-weight specialists-engineers Thomas Hahn and Christoph Erbelding-will continue to dedicate their expertise to building the new BMW ORACLE Racing yacht. We are set to deliver proof of BMW’s technological competence once again. Our market research proves that the BMW brand is now the best-known brand in yachting among members of the relevant target groups. It is obvious that this aspect has had a share in our decision to continue our partnership in BMW ORACLE Racing. Apart from all these reasons, it has also been due to one person who has convinced us to continue our collaboration with ORACLE Racing. He is sitting right next to me. In a nutshell: We are looking forward to continuing this cooperation. We are looking forward to the 33rd America’s Cup. And we are delighted to have the best skipper of all on board-Russell Coutts.

I totally agree with what you said about the Cup needing to move forward, and to once again involve all teams in a conventional America’s Cup regatta. That is what I have always wanted to sail in, and compete against the best in. We want to see the Cup move forward to a conventional monohull event. But now that we have committed to this multihull campaign we can also see the tiger we are riding. For both teams, these new boats are going to be outrageously fast and exciting. If you put our new boat down on a soccer field it would stretch from the goal line to the penalty area line and take up a quarter of the field. We have a superb team working round the clock in the tiny town of Anacortes, about 12 hours drive north of San Francisco in California. But we don’t know where we will be racing, as that is for the defender to decide. So you can see not just the engineering and logistics demands, but also the design challenges. In a nutshell, we have got to get it right. And that’s why we are fortunate – and I am delighted – that our partner is BMW. There are lots of things that make the Cup special. But most boil down to one simple fact. To win, you have to learn how to become the world’s best. The Cup is a marriage of technology and sportsmanship. And as BMW is showing with the BMW Sauber team in Formula 1, this is something they know about extremely well. In both sports, technical excellence is vital. It sets the upper limits of what you can do. With BMW, we have a huge asset in working with people for whom technical excellence is their bread and butter. BMW are also delivering on another requirement of the Cup: sticking with a challenge until you get the result you want. BMW come in and work with us as a team. It is terrific that Christoph Erbelding and Thomas Hahn who worked on the last Cup are providing their unique expertise on this one as well. This way, you get the cutting edge of sailing technology, plus the new horizons BMW is opening up in automotive engineering and dynamics. And you also combine engineering innovation with the total commitment and human passion that are needed to get to the top of any sport. However this next match is decided, when we do get to race I truly hope we see – from both teams – all of the Cup’s characteristics of world-best design and sportsmanship put into action on the water. But I’m personally convinced the magic of the Cup will endure. And there is every reason to believe it will now go on to an even bigger and better future. I’m looking forward to the next Cup. I am looking forward to seeing the America’s Cup get bigger and stronger. And in taking on this challenge I am delighted to know that we could not have a better partner than we have in BMW.