2002 Rolex Sydney to Hobart winner takes on Europe with Alfa Romeo backing

by Sail-World on 2 May 2003 Alfa Romeo, the Line Honours winner of the 2002 Rolex Sydney to Hobart race, has secured full backing from leading European car maker, Alfa Romeo, and support from Qantas, to enable her and a 24 strong Australian and New Zealand crew to take on Europe's best yachtsman this northern summer in
some of the world's most prestigious sailing events.

'The Sydney to Hobart race, along with the 35 other wins in Alfa Romeo's unbeaten record, proved to Alfa Romeo that we could deliver both the
coverage and the positive image that they want in Europe,' says skipper and owner of Alfa Romeo, Neville Crichton.

'The fact that this coverage had
extended around the world was proven to me at this year's Geneva Motor Show, where the media was almost as interested in our yacht and its race
victories, as they were in the new Alfa models launched at the motor show!

I almost could not believe that as well as media kits on the new Alfa Romeo GT Coupe, Kamal and Alfa sports cars, there were media kits on us. For
Qantas our European tour represents a superbly economical way to place their name in front of Europe's affluent business travellers in support of
their Rome, London, Paris and Frankfurt services.'

Alfa Romeo will make her European debut in Portofino for the Trofeo Zegna on 9 to 11 May, before going to St Tropez for the Rolex Giraglia Cup on 23 to 29 June. Alfa Romeo has already demonstrated her ability to cope with tough sea conditions during testing off shore near Sydney, providing her with an excellent basis for the infamous Rolex Fastnet Race on 10 August.

Rounding off Alfa Romeo's 2003 European season will be the Rolex Maxi Worlds in Sardinia on 7 to 13 September.

'Alfa Romeo started her winning streak in Australia and we are very happy that, with the support of Alfa Romeo, we have been able to bring her and
some of the world's leading sailors to Europe,' says Neville Crichton.

'Alfa Romeo was designed to be highly competitive in all types of racing conditions and not to be specialist yacht. We, therefore, believe that
despite the very different nature of these races we have the yacht and the crew to be line honours winners in all the events.'

Neville Crichton started sailing competitively while still at school, buying his first yacht by saving his pocket money and he has been ocean
racing for more than 20 years, during which time he had built up an
impressive account of race wins, as well as a wealth of competitive
experience.

Over half of the crew of Alfa Romeo, a 24 strong team of professional
sportsmen, have contested the America's Cup, including Neville Crichton who
was part of the Team New Zealand in Perth in 1986. From the most recent
America's Cup in Auckland earlier this year, Alfa Romeo counts amongst her
crew four crew members from Team New Zealand and one from Alinghi, the
winner of the World's most coveted sailing trophy.

Although the crew includes a Frenchman and a Briton, Alfa Romeo's crew is
very much a Southern Hemisphere challenge to Europe's best, the New Zealand
born Neville Crichton leading a team almost equally split between the Kiwis
and Australians.

'We did not put a team together with the idea of producing Southern
Hemisphere team to take on Europe's best, but that is how it seems to have
worked out,' says Neville Crichton. 'Add the fact that Alfa Romeo was built in Australia and fitted out in New Zealand, plus the fact that the Kiwis
will want to prove something after our loss of the America's Cup and I think it's fair to say that we will be adding a unique and new competitive
edge from Down Under to this season's European racing.'

Alfa Romeo is, quite simply, the state of the art in racing maxi yacht design, from her sleek Reichel/Pugh design, through carbon fibre
construction and sails. She was designed in the USA, the hull was constructed in Australia and she was launched and fitted out in New Zealand. As much a racing machine as a Formula One car, she is, nevertheless, highly stylish both above and below deck and it is this combination of performance, style and advanced design that attached Alfa Romeo to sponsor the team, first in Australia and New Zealand and now in Europe.


Alfa Romeo - the background

Long and lean looking, with a striking silver hull, Alfa Romeo has proven
to be the boat to beat in the British Trophy, taking the trophy with six
wins in six races. Alfa Romeo also took line honours and the handicap win
the Canon Big Boat race on Sydney Harbour on 13 December, while in the Bird
Island race, she finished a massive five hours and 41 minutes ahead of her
competition, confirming her position has the yacht to beat in the 2002
Rolex Sydney to Hobart.

Alfa Romeo dominated the Flinder's Island race, with another faultless
performance, finishing more than an hour ahead of her competitors and
rivals in the 2002 Rolex Sydney to Hobart Race and she won all four races
in the JP Morgan Regatta. Alfa Romeo took line honours in all nine races at
Hamilton Island in August, soundly beating the fully tuned other maxis in
both the short and long races. On corrected time she finished with an
impressive scorecard of 2-1-5-4-2-2-3-3-1.

Alfa Romeo's win in the 85 nautical mile Coral Sea Race was an eye-opener
for her likely competition for Line Honours in the Sydney Hobart Race,
setting a scorching pace in the tropical waters of North Queensland. She finished 58 minutes ahead of the 84-footer Australian Skandia Wild Thing,
with another 66 minutes to the 80-footer Brindabella in a time of 8 hours 24 minutes 27 seconds.

Alfa Romeo was outstanding in winning the final 22 nautical mile Lindeman Island Race, leading from start to finish for an elapsed time of 2 hours 20
minutes, just outside the race record, and 17 minutes ahead of the next
maxi yacht.

But the highlight of the career of Alfa Romeo so far is its line honours
win in the 2002 Rolex Sydney to Hobart. Alfa Romeo took the lead in a rain
sodden Sydney Harbour, out sailing the other fancied competitors and
avoiding the accidents that claimed other boats. She then held the lead all
the way to Hobart sailing in more than hour ahead of her rivals in, despite
the very light winds, the second fastest winning time in the history of the
race.

Alfa Romeo's next port of call was Auckland, for the Millennium Cup, a
support race for the America's cup series and, with a clean sweep of Line
Honours titles, Alfa Romeo took her unbeaten winning tally to 36 races.




Alfa Romeo: Her Crew
Name Resume Nationality

Antony Mutter
' 3 times New Zealand OK Dinghy Champion
' Whitbread 97/98 - Swedish Match - Trimmer / Sail Co-ordinator
' Volvo 01/02 - SEB - Watch Captain / Sail Co-ordinator
' America's Cup 2000 - Abracadabra - Sail Maker New
Zealand

Carl Watson Australia

David Rolfe ' 97/98 Whitbread Race (Swedish Match)
' 01/02 Volvo race (SEB)
' 98/99 America's Cup (Japan)
' 93 Admirals Cup (Australia)
' 99 World Match Racing Regatta (2nd) New Zealand

Erle Williams ' 3 Whitbread Round the World Races
' 2 America's Cup
' 3 Admiral's Cup
' 3 Kenwood Cup New Zealand

James Beck ' 1999 & 2002 Sydney - Hobart
' 2nd 18ft Skiff World Titles 1993 Australia

Joe Spooner ' America's Cup Team New Zealand 2000 - 2003. Main
Grinder/Masterman
' Volvo Round the World Race July - November 2001
' Fastnet Race, England.
' Round Gotland Race, Sweden
' Cowes Week, England
' 1996 Member of New Zealand Olympic Yachting Team, Savannah, USA.
Reserve in Finn Class New Zealand

Jonathan MacBeth ' 2000 - 2003 America's Cup
' Hamilton Island Race Week
' Antigua Race Week - Mo