BMW ORACLE Racing Enters Yacht-Construction Phase. Seattle Region is Home To "Made in USA" America's Cup Yacht.

Anacortes, WA. BMW ORACLE Racing, the only US Challenger for the
America's Cup, has a boat-building team in place and is entering final
preparation for the construction of its first race boat in the Seattle,
WA region of the United States, the team announced today. The first of
the team's two new race boats for the 32nd America's Cup in 2007 will
be built at a purpose-built site in Anacortes, WA. The small town
nestled in the San Juan Islands is a hub of maritime industry. The
region provides a blend of maritime and aerospace resources. "Our
boat-building team has been on site in Anacortes customizing the
construction site and getting ready for building our boats for several
months now," said Chris Dickson, CEO, BMW ORACLE Racing. "We
are now confident we have the best facility and the best team and are
now ready to start construction." As an American entry
representing San Francisco's Golden Gate Yacht Club, the team is bound
by the rules to build the hull of their two new race yachts in the
United States. The boats will ultimately race in Valencia, Spain, site
of the 32nd America's Cup in 2007. Seattle also serves as home of the
BMW ORACLE Racing structural engineering team. Headed by local sailor
and designer Paul Bieker, the structures team chose Seattle as a base
to be near the construction site. The Seattle structures team includes
three BMW engineers: Thomas Hahn, Christoph Erbelding and Ingo Raasch.
As an equal team partner, the international automotive group BMW is
importantly involved in the development and construction of the new
high-tech yachts. In Valencia and Seattle, BMW engineers led by Prof.
Dr. Raymond Freymann, Director BMW Group Research and Technology, are
integrated in the design team in order to bring in BMW technological
competence into the sports of sailing. Prof. Freymann: "The close
collaboration between our employees on the one side and the exchange of
informations between Seattle and Spain on the other is an efficiently
working system. I'm therefore confident that we all as a team will make
the hull of the yacht lighter and stiffer at the same time. We'll
increase the speed of the yacht. The door to success in 2007 is
open." BMW ORACLE Racing's Mark Turner, Tim Smyth and Mark
Somerville are managing the boat construction. The three were involved
with the construction of USA 71 and USA 76, the team's 2003-generation
race boats. The moulds and other tooling for the 80-foot America's Cup
Class yacht are being manufactured at Janicki Industries in nearby
Sedro-Woolley. "With a custom-made boat, it is essential to have
quality control every step of the way," Turner said of the team's
choice of Janicki. "Janicki's work in the aerospace industry
provides us with the precision we are seeking in our tooling,"
Turner said. "Last campaign, we built the tooling at Janicki and
the hulls in California. This time we consolidated our operations by
building the hulls in nearby Anacortes," Turner said. "So
far, we are finding this to be a more efficient approach." The
construction site for the carbon fibre composite race boats is located
in Anacortes at a 20,000-square-foot purpose-built facility. Due to the
competitive nature of the America's Cup, the boat-building remains a
highly secure process. The non-descript facility in Anacortes has been
customized to offer aerospace level technologies and quality levels.
And like the automotive or aerospace industries, innovations are
protected and the construction kept under wraps until the boat sails in
Valencia. Any competitive advantage gained in design and construction
methods will remain a closely guarded secret of the team. The
construction follows an intensive research and development program to
develop what the team hopes is a fast design. "Quality construction
is the key to bringing our design concepts to life," BMW ORACLE
Racing Design Coordinator Ian Burns said. "Through a precise
custom boat-building process, we can ensure the right materials and
methods are applied to the build. With high-tech composite materials,
precision of construction is critical to ensure that engineering
specifications are met," Burns said. "The technology
involved in composite boat-building is becoming a science in itself.
The build team has spent the last few months very well, taking this
science to the next level by combining the talent of some of the best
people in the America's Cup game with the aerospace technology
available in the Seattle area. The design team has been highly
impressed by what we've seen in Anacortes." The construction of
an America's Cup Class yacht is a highly-specialized trade. The
high-tech tooling is developed for precision accuracy to ensure faithful
reproduction of the design team's shapes. The carbon fibres are layered
onto the mould and then baked in a large oven ensuring the lightest and
strongest possible structure. BMW ORACLE Racing has an experienced
in-house team of about 15 boat-builders working on the project. Some
30,000 man hours will go into the construction of the race yacht. The
first of two new race boats is expected to sail in Valencia in spring
2006. You will find photo and video material on BMW ORACLE Racing at
www.bmor-photo.com and www.bmor-video.com. For further information
please contact: BMW Group Nicole Stempinsky Public Relations, Sports
Communication Tel.: +49 89 382 51584 Fax: +49 89 382 28017 E-Mail:
nicole.stempinsky@bmw.de Michael Kirsch Head of Public Relations Tel.:
+49 89 382 25111 Fax: +49 89 382 28017 E-Mail: michael.kirsch@bmw.de