The ambitious America's Cup project of Munich entrepreneur Michael Illbruck is in jeopardy.
In an interview with YACHT (to be read in issue 4/2002), the 42-year-old admitted to financing problems for his illbruck Challenge: "We need three equal partners if possible. The time until 1 October is short." Two years ago, Illbruck had announced in a YACHT interview: "If necessary, we can carry 90 per cent of the Cup budget on our own." But it has since become clear that the commitment will be more expensive than planned.
A change in the mode is particularly responsible for this. This means that two of the ten challengers have to pack their bags after just three weeks of sailing. "We definitely don't want to be there," says Illbruck, who doesn't want to go down like the Swiss around Jochen Schümann at the last Cup. He told the Süddeutsche Zeitung: "Illbruck also has its limits. We have given ourselves until the end of April to find suitable partners." If this does not work out, the team will "calmly prepare for the next challenge in 2005". The involvement in the Volvo Ocean Race alone costs around 20 million euros. For the premiere of the illbruck Challenge in the America's Cup 2002/2003, the company boss estimates a significantly lower budget of around 15 million euros than the competition, some of whom are investing over 90 million euros, but he certainly does not want to finance it alone. Meanwhile, the new boat is being built in Bremen. The hull is already finished. At the same time, the match race crew led by Dane Morten Hendriksen is becoming increasingly successful in international races. In a very short space of time, it has moved into the top 20 in the world rankings. Michael Illbruck also commented to the SZ on the subject of refinancing the Volvo Ocean Race: "If it wasn't profitable, we wouldn't do it. We may be fanatical, but we're not crazy. The Ocean Race cost two per cent of our company's total annual output, which was around 950 million euros in 2001. The investment has already paid off. The project is all about adventure and adventurers. A round-the-world regatta like this has a positive connotation. It reaches people. And when people talk about you, that's the best advertising. We have well over 20,000 customers around the world and more than 60,000 contacts. We reach them all. Especially when our ship and crew almost sink and then finish the leg as winners."
