illbruck Challenge To Compete at Match Race Lake Constance

by Jane Eagleson on 17 May 2001 The illbruck Challenge, Germany's first America's Cup Challenge, is fielding a team at Germany's only Grade One Match Race event, the Match Race Lake Constance (MRLC) in Langenargen at Lake Constance May 31-June 4.

The illbruck Challenge match race team will face a line-up that includes other America's Cup contenders. Match Race Team Manager Morten Henriksen will be joined by German teammates Gunnar Knierim on the bow and Arne Wilcken as trimmer.

This world-class event is the seventh of the Swedish Match Grand Prix Sailing Tour and will be presented by Volvo. Twelve skippers representing nine countries and six America´s Cup campaigns will compete for a total prize purse of USD100,000 including a brand new Volvo V40.

The entry list at Lake Constance includes three-time Olympic champion Jochen Schümann, representing Ernesto Bertarelli´s Swiss America´s Cup campaign as well as the current leader of the Swedish Match Tour Magnus Holmberg (Sweden) of Team StoraEnso and the Swedish Victory Challenge. Other prominent match racers will compete such as Luc Pillot from France, Chris Dickson (representing the US Oracle Racing Team) and two Danish top ten skippers Jesper Radich Johanesen and Jes Gram Hansen.

Henriksen and his crew have been training at Lake Constance in preparation for the May 31 - June 4 event. 'This is a great opportunity for our team to face a high caliber field,' Henriksen said. 'Our performance bar will be raised a notch from the more experience we will gain sailing against some of the world's best match racers.'


The illbruck match race team is competing on the international circuit while the illbruck Volvo Ocean Race crew is in final stages of preparation for the around-the-world race. The team has competed in two Grade 2 events in March and April finishing second in each. Upcoming regattas on the illbruck Challenge match race schedule include Pedrini Centro Cup, Lake Garda, Italy, June 13-17; Danish Open, Copenhagen, Denmark, August 14-17; Knickerbocker Cup, New York, August 28- September 3.

The match race team will be joined by Kostecki and other illbruck Challenge race crew as the schedule permits. Henriksen will continue in a coaching role with the illbruck race crew following the completion of the Volvo Ocean Race in June 2002 when the entire sailing team will then focus together on training for the America's Cup.

The illbruck Challenge is a competitive international sailing program that over the past 30 years has earned success at many of the world's top regattas. The illbruck Challenge is now pursuing the world's two pinnacle sailing events: the Volvo Ocean Race, the world's premier ocean race, and the America's Cup, the world's top match racing event. The illbruck Challenge is representing the Duesseldorf Yacht Club in Germany's first-ever Challenge for the America's Cup, the competition for the oldest international trophy in sport. The Volvo Ocean Race starts September 23 from Southampton, England and finishes in Kiel, Germany in June 2002.

illbruck GmbH is a privately held international company with autonomous business units including Automotive, Sealant Systems, Sanitary Technology, Architectural Surfaces, and Filtration Systems/Insulation Systems. Founded in 1952, illbruck has 35 locations in15 countries worldwide and is headquartered in Leverkusen, Germany. The illbruck Challenge embodies the philosophy of the illbruck company: success through motivation, flexibility and team spirit. The illbruck Challenge is the image medium and primary vehicle for illbruck's global and internal corporate identification.

For more information:
Jane Eagleson, Director
Marketing Communications
Tel: +49/2171/391-265
Fax: +49/2171/391-581
Mobile: +49/174/97 85 273
Email: jeagleson@illbruckChallenge.com
www.illbruckChallenge.com