Please select your home edition
Edition
GP Watercraft

illbruck Challenge Volvo Team Begins Southern Ocean Training

by Jane Eagleson on 22 Nov 2000
John Kostecki and the illbruck Challenge Volvo Ocean Race crew sailed from Fremantle, Australia today embarking on a 3,270-mile trek through the Southern Ocean to Auckland, New Zealand as part of their training for next year's around the world race.

The team will use the two weeks at sea to test sails and equipment, watch systems and to try out potential new team members. The team is sailing with a new carbon fiber rig, allowed for the first time under race rules. The Southern Ocean training session will culminate with the team competing in the Sydney-Hobart Race starting in Australia December 26.
The team has been testing the new rig and sailing out of their Fremantle base camp for several weeks. 'We've gone through the paces with the boat and everything feels great,' Kostecki said. 'We are ready to get out there and face the Southern Ocean. We expect to encounter some challenging conditions, but this is what we're here for. The tougher it is now the more experienced we will be as a team when we face this infamous stretch of ocean next year.' The second leg of the Volvo Ocean Race starts in Cape Town, South Africa, in November 2001 and will take the team through the Southern Ocean to Sydney.

In addition to skipper John Kostecki, the Southern Ocean crew includes Volvo Ocean Race team members: Stu Bannatyne, watch captain; Stu Bettany, helmsman/trimmer; Mark Christensen, watch captain; Ray Davies, helmsman/trimmer; Dirk de Ridder, mast; Ross Halcrow, helmsman/trimmer; Toni Kolb, bow; and Juan Vila, navigator. The crew is joined in the Southern Ocean by Richard Clarke, helmsman/trimmer; Jamie Gale, mast; Greg Gendell, bow; and Ian Moore, navigator. This same team, except for Gendell, will compete in the Sydney-Hobart Race.

The illbruck Challenge team is training in the Southern Hemisphere with the former EF Education from the last edition of the around the world race. The illbruck Volvo 60 training sistership, the former EF Language and winner of the last Whitbread Round the World Race (now Volvo Ocean Race), is being shipped from Germany to the East Coast where the team will continue training in early 2001. The new illbruck Volvo Ocean 60 is now under construction in Leverkusen and will be delivered to the sailing team for training in spring, 2001.

'The time we invest in the Southern Ocean this year will pay off in a huge way next year,' Kostecki said. 'We can work together as a team to overcome the challenge we will face in this training session, giving us a bit of an edge when we are racing in the Southern Ocean next year.'

The crew will send emails and photos from the boat as they train in the Southern Ocean. Follow their progress in the 'On Board' section of the illbruck Challenge web site at www.illbruck-pinta.com.

Volvo Ocean Race is the world's premier ocean race. The 32,250 nautical mile race around the world starts September 23, 2001 from Southampton, England with nine stopovers and finishes in Kiel, Germany in June 2002.

illbruck GmbH is a privately-held international company with six autonomous business units: Automotive, Sealant Systems, Sanitary Technology, Architectural Surfaces, Filtration Systems/Insulation Systems and IT Services. Founded in 1952, illbruck has 35 locations in 15 countries worldwide and is headquartered in Leverkusen, Germany. About 3,200 employees develop and produce customer orientated, complex and highly sophisticated system solutions.

The illbruck Challenge embodies the philosophy of the illbruck company: success through motivation, flexibility and team spirit. The same performance-driven qualities of the international company are embodied in the illbruck Challenge racing team. The illbruck Challenge is the image medium and primary vehicle for illbruck's global and internal corporate identification.

Related Articles

Dylan Fletcher previews Portsmouth
Fletcher says SailGP's Portsmouth debut offers the team the chance to 'right the wrongs'. With just a week to go until SailGP's return to Great Britain, we sit down with Emirates GBR driver Dylan Fletcher to discuss the opportunities and pressures of a home event.
Posted today at 8:57 am
Lighter Gear for Longer Days
Summer sailing demands a different approach When daylight stretches into evening and conditions call for extended sessions, hot and heavy gear can become your biggest limitation.
Posted today at 7:30 am
Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta 2025 Preview
The fourth stop of the five series Sailing Grand Slam circuit Over 200 elite athletes from 42 nations have converged on Long Beach to test their skills on the same waters that will host sailing events during the LA2028 Olympic Games as they compete in the Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta July 12-20
Posted today at 12:11 am
Long Offshore Race winners declared in Helsinki
A demanding course across the Gulf of Finland in the Garmin ORC Double-Handed Europeans The Long Offshore Race of the 2025 Garmin ORC Double-Handed European Championship, concluded on Friday in Helsinki after a challenging 247 to 283-nautical-mile course across the Gulf of Finland and back.
Posted on 11 Jul
Best Buddies from Germany win the AEGEAN 600 2025
The second wave of finishers benefit from last night's steadier breezes Behind the first wave of finishers yesterday morning, yesterday and last night's steadier breezes helped sweep in another wave of Monohull and Multihull finishers to the race finish at Cape Sounion.
Posted on 11 Jul
Conversation with Ben Willows: CEO RS Marine Group
Some people's passion for sailing runs so deep, it feels like it's woven into their DNA There are some people whose passion for sailing runs so deep, it feels like it's woven into their DNA. Ben Willows is one of those people.
Posted on 11 Jul
International Moth Worlds at Lake Garda Day 4
Balanger dominates qualifying, storm cuts Gold fleet racing short Day four of the 2025 Moth World Championship opened at dawn with another early start for the 137 athletes from 25 nations competing on Lake Garda.
Posted on 11 Jul
iQFOiL Worlds in Aarhus overall
Thrilling Medal Series closes out a spectacular week of high-stakes foiling in Denmark The 2025 iQFOiL World Championship wrapped up in Aarhus with a spectacular Medal Series showdown that saw Emma Wilson (GBR 7) and Andy Brown (GBR 360) rise to the top and secure World Championship titles.
Posted on 11 Jul
Rolex Fastnet Race IRC Three preview
This has produced the overall winner of two of the last six editions IRC Three may consist of smaller, slower and in some cases older boats than those that will garner headlines in the first couple of days of the Rolex Fastnet Race.
Posted on 11 Jul
Zhik Nordic Youth Sailing Championship preview
This year's regatta will be the largest of its kind ever hosted in Tallinn Tallinna Yacht Club brings one of the biggest sports events of the summer to Haven Kakumäe - 300 young sailors expected at the Zhik Nordic Youth Sailing Championship, plus just as many supporters on shore!
Posted on 11 Jul