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‘MASERATI’ OVERCOMES TRAuMATIC RACE START TO CLIMB TO FOURTH PLACE IN THE ROLEX SYDNEY HOBART YACHT RACE
Maserati Race Start Picture Gallery: CLICK HERE
‘Maserati’ has overcome a traumatic start to the 2015 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race that saw crew members diving overboard on the start line, to climb the leader board to fourth place in the line honours battle.
‘Maserati’ is now just handful of miles behind Ragamuffim 100 which is in third place, chasing down Comanche and Rambler in first and second respectively, while Maserati is well ahead of fourth placed Ichi Ban. Maserati’s key rival ‘Black Jack’, another VOR70 like the Italian yacht, was hot on Maserati’s tail in fifth place but has retired at sea on second day of the race.
Given his poor start, ‘Maserati’ skipper and legendary ocean racer, Giovanni Soldini, gambled on route further out to sea than any other yacht in the race, It was a gamble that clearly paid off, putting the Italians well and truly back in the game, especially after the retirement of ‘Black Jack’. Indeed, so effective are his tactics that by the middle of day two, Maserati is IRC 0 handicap leader.
But what went wrong at the start?
Immediately after the yachts crossed the line, the Italian VOR 70 became ensnared with three of the buoys marking off the spectator boat area. The crew had to halt the boat to deal with the problem, losing precious time in the process as first Carlos Hernandez and then Sam Goodchild swam under the boat and worked their way along the hull to cut the lines entangled with the keel.
“The start was good but very dangerous with a very narrow channel to tack up,” explained Soldini. “There was very little space between the reefs and the spectators. As we were starting, we heard an awful crash to leeward: two boats had collided. At the end of the channel, we were just a few metres from Black Jack and held the tack to the last. But we ended up in the spectator fleet and had to tack around one of the buoys that delimit it.”
We’d already practiced that on our training days but today the keel became ensnared with a line attaching the buoy to its neighbours and we soon realised we were dragging three buoys behind us. We tried to free ourselves by backing up in the middle of the oncoming fleet but eventually we positioned ourselves to windward of everyone and with our bow to the wind, we dropped Carlos over the side. He managed to free up just one of the buoys. In the end, Sam jumped in with a knife and cut whatever he could under the boat so we good get free and underway.”
Organised by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia and the Royal Club of Tasmania, the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race was first run in 1945. The current race record was set in 2012 by the Australian yacht Wild Oats XI (winner of eight of the last ten events) which covered the distance in one day, 18 hours, 23 seconds and 12 hundredths of a second.
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Maserati’s entry in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is sponsored by the main partner, Maserati, after which the yacht is named, and by co-sponsors Swiss Bank BSI and Unipol SAI Assicurazioni.
The official suppliers to the challenge are Z Zegna (clothing), Vodafone Italia (telecommunication services and official website development) and Boero Bartolomeo S.p.A. (speciaist hull paints and enamels).
Also aboard Maserati are Eataly (provisioning), Beta Utensili (allprofessional tools), Corderia Lancelin (specialist lines and cables), Jeppesen (cartography), B&G Navico (technical assistance with onboard instrumentation), Cantiere Picchiotti of La Spezia (Maserati’s home base ashore), and the La Spezia Port Authority (Maserati’s home port afloat).
Download Links:
Giovanni Soldini – Picture Gallery:
Liz Wardley – Picture Gallery:
Maserati Yacht – B roll footage in Sydney with wildtrack sound:
Maserati Yacht on Sydney Harbour:
Maserati Yacht and Maserati GranTurismo pictures:
Maserati Yacht – International videos:
Maserati Yacht – International pictures:
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You Tube:
Maserati:
Name / MaseratiOwner / Orca SRL
Skipper / Giovanni Soldini
Navigator / Matteo Ivaldi
Crew / A Fantini, C Hernandez-Roba, C Rossignoli, F Malingri, G Broggi, M Herrera Perez, M Spertini, P Casiraghi, S Goodchild
State / Italy
Club / YCI
Type / Volvo 70
Designer / Juan Kouyoumdjan
Length / 21.5 m (70 feet)
Beam / 5.7 m (18 feet 7 inches)
Draft / 5.3 m (14 feet 9 inches)
Mainsail / 172 square metres (574 square feet)
Headsail / 140 square metres (1938 square feet)
Spinnaker / 500 square metres (5382 square feet)
Mast / 31.5 metres (103 feet six inches)
Weight / 12,500 kg (12.3 tons)
Max Keel angle / 40 degrees
Giovanni Soldini
Born in Milan on 16th May 1966, Soldini started sailing as a child.
He has more than twenty years’ experience of ocean regattas behind him, including two single-handed around-the-world races (one victory and one second place), six Québec-Saint Malos (one victory in the monohull category), six Ostars (two victories in the 50 ft class and in the 40 ft class), three Jacques Vabres (one victory in the 40 ft class), and more than 40 transoceanic races.
Aboard Maserati he set new Cadiz-San Salvador and Gold Rush Route records, sailing 13,225 nautical miles from New York to San Francisco in 47 days, 42 minutes and 29 seconds.
About Maserati SpA
Maserati is an Italian luxury car manufacturer which was established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna (Italy) by its founder Alfieri Maserati and his brothers. Their passion and talent contributed to the company DNA: innovation, excellence, and challenge, which are reflected in the brand’s claim “The absolute opposite of ordinary”. Today, the company's headquarters and main production location are in Modena (Italy). A second state-of-the-art production location, based on the highest quality standards of the World Class Manufacturing (WCM) concept, was inaugurated in Grugliasco, near Turin (Italy), in 2013. Maserati has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993.
Its emblem, the trident, was inspired by the fountain on the Piazza del Nettuno in the center of Bologna (Italy). It is a symbol that ties together the brothers, their hometown, and the artistry and craftsmanship for which Bologna and Emilia-Romagna are known.
Through major investments into product development, production facilities as well as its worldwide dealer network, Maserati has hit a turning point. In addition to the successful GranTurismo and GranCabrio ranges, the latest generation of Maserati’s flagship sedan, the Quattroporte, and the new sports executive sedan, the Ghibli, provide the cornerstones to the brand’s strategy of producing some 75,000 units annually and gaining a significantly strengthened presence in the global luxury car market.
Sales figures for 2014 show that worldwide Maserati sold approximately 36,500 cars worldwide, an increase of 136% compared to 2013 and almost 6 times the sales figure for 2012.23,500 Ghiblis were delivered to the network, while the figure for the Quattroporte was 9,500 units. The total was completed by 3,500 units of the GranTurismo and GranCabrio models.
The American market, with 14,690 units and growth of 110% compared to 2013, confirmed its status as Maserati’s biggest market in 2014, with sales boosted by the Ghibli and Quattroporte versions equipped with the 410 BHP Twin Turbo engine and Q4 all-wheel drive.The second largest market in terms of volume was China, with 9,400 units and growth of 148% compared to 2013; the best-selling Quattroporte and Ghibli versions were those with 330 BHP Twin Turbo engine and rear-wheel drive.
In spite of the widespread economic instability, Europe also recorded a large rise of 153% compared to 2013, with no fewer than 6,360 units sold. The market leading Quattroporte and Ghibli versions were the rear wheel drive versions with the 275 BHP V6 Turbo Diesel engine. Performance in the Asia-Pacific area (excluding China) was excellent, with 4,000 units, representing a 206% increase over 2013, including a 199.3% increase in the Australian market.The results achieved in the Middle East were also very impressive, with 2,050 units sold and a growth of 144% compared to 2013.
About European Automotive Imports
European Automotive Imports (EAI), trading as Maserati Australia and New Zealand, was appointed as the distributor of Maserati, its products and services in Australia and New Zealand in 2005, starting operations on 1 October that year, initially from offices in the Sydney suburb of Homebush before moving, in 2010, to its present offices in Waterloo. The company also took over the New South Wales retail Maserati representation from 1 October 2005, initially as Italia Motori until the completion of the new facility in Waterloo as both home to EAI and the new dealership, Ferrari Maserati Sydney, which opened its doors in 2010. This dealership was taken over by the McCarrolls Group in 2015, joining their brand new Artarmon Maserati dealership on Sydney’s North Shore. From 2013 EAI has also controlled the Maserati retail outlet ‘Maserati Auckland’ in New Zealand. In addition to offices for EAI, the Waterloo facility also provides a state of the art training facility for both technical and sales training. EAI has a fully computerised parts facility in Sydney to ensure fast and efficient distribution of parts and accessories.
In 2015 EAI was appointed as distributor for Maserati in South Africa along with running the retail business for Maserati in Johannesburg.
EAI is a private company wholly owned by its Executive Chairman, Neville Crichton, and it is not a subsidiary of any of Mr Crichton’s other companies. Maserati Australia and New Zealand is headed by Glen Sealey, who took over as General Manager in 2010, and who has overseen a doubling of team responsible for Maserati in Australia and New Zealand. In 2015 Mr Sealey was promoted to the role of Chief Operating Officer for Maserati in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The Maserati team in Australia and New Zealand includes Bilgen Tug, National Marketing and Public Relations Manager; David Weihen, National Aftersales Manager and Alex Ball, National Sales Manager.
Following its appointment, EAI set about a major renewal of its dealer group, with all-new dealerships opening in Brisbane (2006), Melbourne (2008), Perth (2008), Sydney (2010), Adelaide (2013) and Auckland (2013) with major refurbishments in Sydney, Adelaide and Auckland prior to new facilities opening. In addition, Christchurch opened initially as a Maserati service centre bringing the marque officially to the South Island of New Zealand in 2008 and this was expanded to a full dealership in 2013. In 2014 new additional dealerships opened in Sydney and Melbourne with another dealership set to open 2016 to serve the Queensland market
EAI has consistently grown Maserati sales in Australia and New Zealand with its annual best in 2014 when total sales for the year were greater than the three previous years combined. In Australia sales rose 199.3 per cent to 401 vehicles for the year. In New Zealand sales climbed 400 per cent over the previous year with 70 new Maseratis delivered.
For further information, please contact:
Barbara Sanicola
/ Tel: 0406307616(Australia)‘Maserati’ Team PR Manager
/ Tel: +39 333 3905243E:
Glen Sealey
/ Tel: +61 2 8577 8070Chief Operating Officer / Fax: +61 2 8577 8079
Maserati Australia, New Zealand and South Africa / E:
Release Number: Maserati_567
Date of release: 12/31/2018 1:23:32 PM