CATERHAM COMPOSITES AND FIVEº WEST ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP

December 19th 2011
Sports marketing firm Fiveº West today formally announced their performance partnership with Caterham Composites. The partnership will see Caterham Composites, a division of the Caterham Group, working with Fiveº West ‘s grand prix yacht racing campaigns.

Caterham Composites is the design and performance specialist division of Caterham Group, the parent company of the Caterham F1 Team and Caterham Cars. Caterham Composites will lend ocean racing campaigns their expertise in building technology solutions for carbon fibre structures in the motor-racing and airline industries.

The partnership is an unprecedented move in competitive sailing, combining great British ocean racing talent and the technology and performance management expertise of Caterham Composites. Alex Thomson Racing will be the first to benefit from the partnership. Following his recent 2nd place finish in this year’s Transat Jacques Vabre and 4th place completion of the Transat B to B, Alex Thomson now has his sights set on being the first British sailor to win the solo, round-the-world Vendée Globe, which starts on November 10th, 2012. The partnership with Caterham Composites will facilitate the performance optimisation of Alex’s Open 60 yacht, HUGO BOSS, using advanced research and methodology not previously available to sailing teams.

‘We are very excited to be sharing our research and the outstanding expertise of our technical team with Alex Thomson and the 5ºWest team,’ said Mike Gascoyne, CEO of Caterham Composites and Chief Technical Officer of Caterham F1 Team ‘This is a great opportunity to apply our knowledge to a different sport and to test our systems, while working with Britain’s best solo ocean skippers.’

‘Formula 1 and ocean yacht racing teams face many of the same challenges,’ said Stewart Hosford, Managing Director, 5ºWest. ‘Reliability, performance, weight and safety are all similar concerns and like all high technology sports it is about having the best team and realising that the decisions you make six, and twelve, months in advance of a big race are as important as those made on the race course itself’.

For more information on the race, visit www.vendeeglobe.org/en/

- ENDS-

Caterham Composites: for more information please contact Tom Webb +44 (0) 7581 208 504 / tom.webb@caterhamf1.com

Fiveº West: For more information please contact Gillian Clarke + 44 (0) 7740 986 648 / gillian@5west.co.uk

Notes To Editors

About Caterham Composites
Caterham Composites are the experts in unrivalled lightweight structural solutions. Part of the Caterham Group, Caterham Composites is a specialist company delivering turn-key solutions with a focus on the aerospace, automotive and motor sport industries including Formula One, the leading sector for structural lightweight solutions and applied technology. Through the highest level of involvement, covering more than 25 years, Caterham Composites uses its vast experience to harness groundbreaking technology to tailor cutting edge innovative solutions for all its clients’ needs.

About Five West
Five West is a leading sports marketing organisation, redefining associations in global sports arenas and international yacht racing. Five West is recognised for delivering ‘Best in Class’ campaigns across competitive Grand Prix yacht racing and providing 360° marketing service to brands and sports governing bodies. Five West has delivered campaigns on behalf of leading brands, linking brand values to a global stage creating a powerful association. Five West’s representation of professional solo yacht sailors connects sports talent to global brands that demonstrate the will and commitment to associate with performers who are pushing for the podium.

About Alex Thomson Racing
Alex Thomson is the youngest skipper ever to win a round the world race, claiming victory in the 1998/99 Clipper Round the World Race; a record he still holds today. Alex then launched onto the solo racing scene with a bang, breaking the world distance record in 2003. He went onto victory by completing the first edition of the double handed Barcelona World Race in 2007/2008 and securing a podium position of 2nd place. In November 2011, Alex completed the Transat Jacques Vabre double-handed race from Le Havre, France to Puerto Limon, Costa Rica, securing another 2nd place podium finish. He is now even more determined to achieve his dream to become the first Briton to win the Vendée Globe, which begins in Les Sables d’Olonne on 10 November 2012.
www.alexthomsonracing.com