Lewis Hamilton joins Alex Thomson on Hugo Boss

by Alex Thomson Racing on 27 Jun 2008
This weekend Lewis Hamilton will be swapping his usual seat behind his Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 car, to join Alex Thomson onboard his record breaking Open 60 yacht 'HUGO BOSS', in the annual yachting race around the Isle of Wight.

Race date: 28th June 2008
Race start time: 6am
Race Title: JPMorgan Asset Management Round the Island Race
Yacht: HUGO BOSS
Distance: 55 miles
Expected duration: 5 hours
Average speed: 11 miles an hour

Although Lewis has no sailing experience he will be in safe hands with two of Britain's top sailors showing him the ropes; not only will Alex Thomson be at the helm but Ben Ainslie triple Olympic medallist who is going for his third consecutive Olympic gold medal this summer in China will also be in the driving seat.

'What a boat to go out in for my first ever sailing race; the world's fastest 60ft monohull, HUGO BOSS, and racing with Ben Ainslie and Alex Thomson. I am interested to see all the technology that goes behind this boat and the similarities between racing on the water and racing on a track. I'm looking forward to the start, no fixed start position, just all those boats fighting it out for the best space on the start line' said Lewis.

Alex is also looking forward to Lewis sailing on HUGO BOSS. 'I met Lewis the first time a few years ago when he was driving in the Formula 3 Championship. He is one of the most talented sportsmen on the planet, and I am really looking forward to showing him the ropes on HUGO BOSS, the F1 version of sailing. It will be interesting to hear how Formula 1 racing compares to a professional sailing campaign.'

Check out the Alex Thomson Racing website on Saturday afternoon to see the results! www.alexthomsonracing.com

Alex and the team