Swiss watch manufacturer IWC Schaffhausen has signed a new deal as the Volvo Ocean Race’s Official Timekeeper for 2014-15 – and will sponsor the prestigious IWC Schaffhausen 24-hour Speed Record Challenge for the second consecutive edition – after the company renewed its partnership with sailing’s toughest event.
« We are proud to be part of this exceptional test of sailing prowess, which attracts the very best teams on the planet, » said IWC CEO Georges Kern. « By continuing our partnership, we are underscoring our long-term commitment, and the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 will give us another opportunity to demonstrate our expertise in engineering, technology and innovation. »
Knut Frostad, CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race said: « IWC Schaffhausen and the Volvo Ocean Race are both globally active and our successful cooperation is founded on a passion for sport and our everyday quest for perfection. It is an enormous pleasure for me to welcome IWC again as the Official Timekeeper of the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15.
« It is fitting that we are building such a fruitful partnership with one of the world’s most prestigious timekeepers. »
The 12th edition of the Volvo Ocean Race begins in Alicante, Spain on 4 October 2014 and will finish in Gothenburg, Sweden on 27 June 2015. The full route will take the teams 39,379 nautical miles around the planet in sport’s ultimate test of character.
As in the last edition, IWC Schaffhausen will not only act as the Official Timekeeper but also as sponsor of the prestigious IWC Schaffhausen 24-hour Speed Record Challenge. This prize goes to the team that covers the greatest distance in any period of 24 hours during each stage of the race.
At the end of the race, the Swiss watch manufacturer will reward every member of the crew that sets the fastest 24-hour speed record over the course of the entire race with a watch. In the 2011-12 race, IWC presented each member of the CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand crew with the Portuguese Yacht Club Chronograph Edition “Volvo Ocean Race 2011-2012” after the team covered 566 nautical miles in a 24-hour period on the leg between Lisbon and Lorient.
The Volvo Ocean Race began life as the Whitbread Round the World Race in 1973 and for 40 years it has defined ocean racing.
IWC also announced on Tuesday it is renewing its partnership with the Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing team who will once again be skippered by Britain’s double Olympic medallist Ian Walker.
IWC CEO Georges Kern stresses the benefits of the partnership with the team.
« Our cooperation gave us a profound insight into the actual race,” Kern said. “In the host ports IWC’s guests had a chance to get close to the crew and have a peek behind the scenes of this truly momentous sailing event. Apart from that, we shared the thrills and spills of the race with the crew. We witnessed their highs and lows and celebrated their triumphs, as when skipper Ian Walker and his crew won the In-Port Race at their home port of Abu Dhabi. The thoroughly positive balance of our cooperation and the fact that double Olympic silver medallist Ian Walker will be back at the helm firmed our commitment and persuaded us to support the team’s ambitions once again.”