Acura Miami Grand Prix Ready to Rock
Warm Sunshine and Ocean Breezes Welcome International Fleet

Posted Wednesday, March 4, 2009

 


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Miami Beach, Fla - Sailors from seven countries and 14 states are preparing to do fierce, yet friendly battle in the ocean waters off America's Riveria.
Led by top-notch TP52 programs that all competed at Acura Key West in January, this truly is a grand prix event.

Ennio Staffini, the US TP52 entry in the IRC 1 class commented: "The field will be very competitive and each of the four boats has a legitimate shot at
winning the regatta. Our team performed much better than we would have hoped in Key West and improved greatly during the week. We look forward to a
rematch, sailing again against the TP52s in Miami."

Staffini's Anema & Core hails from Annapolis, MD. This is the third year in Miami for Sergey Pichugin's Synergy (Moscow, RUS and Gibraltar). The two UK
entries are new this year. Nicklas Zennstrom's RAN won Acura Key West 2009 and Charles Dunstone's RIO was not far behind in 3rd place.

The Farr 40 fleet bears its usual hallmarks of highly competitive, international entries. The tactician list reads like a who's who in grand
prix competition. Bill Hardesty, on Helmut Jahn's Flash Gordon 6, just achieved an impressive win in the Etchells Jaguar Mid-Winters on nearby
Biscayne Bay. 2008 Rolex Yachtsman of the year Terry Hutchinson is again with Jim Richardson's Barking Mad, and Adrian Stead brings his Olympic and
multiple world championship experience to Vincenzo Onorato's Mascalzone Latino team. And there are more you'll be reading about in the coming days
in Miami.

The Melges 32s, the largest class with 19 boats, also has an impressive grand prix flavor. Mike Carroll and Marty Kullman's New Wave is the 2008
Gold Cup Champion and defending 2008 Acura Grand Prix Champion. The St. Petersburg, Fl team faces two recent Key West podium finishers in Joe
Woods's Red (Torbay, UK) and Jason Carroll's Argo (Larchmont, NY). They placed 2nd and 3rd last January.

IRC 2 will be plenty competitive too, with new models, local sailors, and plenty of experience on board all boats. Dan Kerckhoff's Santa Cruz 37
Southern Crescent is so new he sailed it for the first time yesterday. The Naples, Fla owner is "looking forward to a great sailing and having a
wonderful time". Two recent Acura Key West champions are in this class. Jon Halbert won the Swan 42 class in Vitesse (Dallas, TX) and Dan Woolery took
class honors in IRC 2 with his new King 40 Soozal (Point Richmond, CA).

Four days of racing begins Thursday March 5. Scratch sheet and event information: <http://www.premiere-racing.com>
http://www.premiere-racing.com

The 2009 Acura Grand Prix Championship scoring for the Farr 40 and Combined IRC class is based on the lowest cumulative points scored for both Acura Key
West 2009 and the 2009 Acura Miami Grand Prix combined. For the Melges 32 class it is based on the lowest cumulative points scored for the 2008 Melges
32 Gold Cup, Acura Key West 2009 and the 2009 Acura Miami Grand Prix combined.

ACURA GRAND PRIX CHAMPIONSHIP - STANDINGS AFTER ACURA KEY WEST 2009

IRC Combined

1. Ran (TP52), Niklas Zennstrom, Hamble, GBR 18 pts.

2. Soozal (King 40), Daniel Woolery, Pt. Richmond, CA, 19 pts.

3. Rio (TP52),Charles Dunstone, Cowes, GBR, 28 pts.

Farr 40

1. Mascalzone Latino, Vincenzo Onorato, Napoli,ITA, 32 pts

2. Joe Fly, Giovanni Maspero, Como, ITA, 35 pts

3. Barking Mad, James Richardson, Newport, RI, 35 pts

Melges 32

1. New Wave, M Carroll/M Kullman, Clearwater, FL, 76 pts

2. Red, Joe Woods, Torbay, GBR, 100 pts

3. Ninkasi, John Taylor, Big Sky, MT, 120 pts

Acura has been the proud title sponsor and Official Vehicle of SORC and the Miami Grand Prix for the previous 9 years. They are joined by supporting
sponsors Mount Gay Rum (Official Rum) and SLAM (Official Technical Gear and Retailer).

The Miami Beach Marina is the Official Site for this 2009 grand prix event. The Avalon and South Seas Hotels are the Official Host Hotels.

Shake-A-Leg Miami is the official charity of both the Acura Miami Grand Prix and Acura Key West. For information about them please visit:
<http://www.shakealegmiami.org/> www.ShakeALegMiami.org

Thirty-six Industry Partners bring their support through a program that is now in its 8th year.
<http://www.premiere-racing.com/ipp/Industry_Partners_09.htm> Learn more about the Industry Partners and the Program on the event web site.

Acura Key West 2009 and the 2009 Acura Miami Grand Prix are <http://www.ussailing.org/> US Sailing sanctioned events.

About Acura
Acura offers a full line of technologically advanced luxury performance vehicles through a nationwide network of more than 260 dealers throughout
the United States. The 2009 Acura lineup features five distinctive models, the RL luxury performance sedan, the TL premium performance sedan, the TSX
premium sport sedan, the turbo-charged RDX premium sport CUV and the award-winning MDX premium performance CUV.

For more information about Acura vehicles, please visit <http://www.acura.com/> Acura.com.