Dragon European Championship: the BMW Yachtsport season casts off. BMW again partner to major regattas at the ‘premier league’ of competitive sailing in 2014. BMW Yachtsport Ambassador, Markus Wieser, in action at the European Championship.

Munich. TheBMW kicks off the new yachting season with the ‘premier league’ of competitive sailing. The European Championship for Dragon yachts will be held in San Remo from 25th to 29th March – and, as it was last year, BMW is once again on board as “Official Partner”. Defending champion is Portugal’s Jose Matoso, who won the Virginie Heriot Cup for his sailing club Clube Naval de Cascais last year. The continental championship marks the start of a succession of high-class Dragon regattas, supported again by BMW this year. These include the BMW Dragon Grand Prix Germany (15th – 18th June, Kühlungsborn, GER), the International Dragon Gold Cup (5th – 12th September, Medemblik, NED), the Hans-Detmar Wagner Cup (9th – 12th October, Torbole, ITA) and Dragon Saint Tropez (15th – 18th October, Saint Tropez, FRA).

“Even at this early stage in the year, we can already enjoy the first highlight of BMW Yachtsport’s commitment to competitive sailing, in the form of the Dragon European Championship,” said Eckhard Wannieck, Head of BMW International Sports Marketing and Brand Cooperations. “This year, 90 teams from 22 countries have registered for the European Championship. This underlines the importance of the regatta at the pinnacle of the sport and confirms the success of the many BMW partnerships with the Dragon class. The high sporting standards and elegance of these boats is an exciting combination, and one with which BMW can certainly identify.“

 The new European Champions and the winners of the Corinthian classification will be rewarded with a special prize, in the form of a BMW M Intensive Training course: at the wheel of a BMW M4, the winners will push themselves and the car to the limit at a top-class racetrack, such as the Nürburgring, Salzburgring or Hockenheimring. Furthermore, BMW will also provide its motorhome – otherwise used in the top echelon of motorcycle racing, MotoGP – for the European Championship. As has become tradition at Dragon regattas with BMW, the company is pleased to invite the competitors to a communal post-sailing beer – served from an extraordinary dispenser installed in a 1950s BMW 501.

 Beppe Zaoli, President of Yacht Club Sanremo: “Yacht Club Sanremo is proud to have BMW on board for the Dragon European Championship. BMW is a highly regarded partner on the international sailing scene and will enhance the status of this regatta. We are looking forward to a large and high-class fleet. Together with BMW, we will make every effort to organise a top-class European Championship regatta.

 A maximum of seven races are scheduled to take place between 25th and 29th March. At least four races must be completed in order to be able to crown a new European Champion. If more than four races are held, one result is scratched. BMW Yachtsport Ambassador Markus Wieser, the 2012 Dragon European Champion, was beaten by surprise winner Matoso last year. This year, helmsman Wieser, who will line up for Germany with his crew of owner Sergey Pugachev and George Leonchuk, will once again be the man to beat.

 As well as its commitment to the Dragon class, BMW is once again partner to the International Bodenseewoche, the classic Flensburg regattas – Robbe & Berking Sterling Cup, and Robbe & Berking Classic Week – and the renowned Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez.

The 2014 BMW Yachtsport season.

The BMW Group.
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