USMCA NEWS

NEWS

LAKE GENEVA'S BRIAN PORTER CROWNED MELGES 24 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPION

23 SEPTEMBER 2007; Detroit, Mich. - In yet another day of warm, 8-12 knot breeze, Brian Porter's Full Throttle team held off World Champion Dave Ullman, helming Scott Holmgren's Rosebud. "We were 1-2 at Worlds, we were 1-2 at North Americans, and now we're 1-2 here, with Brian getting the win." Ullman said. "Those guys are just so fast and so good they're always solid."

Porter's crew included Melges Performance Sailboats President Harry Melges III and VP Andy Burdick, also from Lake Geneva, Wis. "We felt like we had a speed edge all weekend." Melges said. Porter was very impressed with the difficulty of the racing conditions. "There was just no predictability at all to the wind shifts," the new Champion said. "The lake would just fake you out in between regular shifts, and the only solution was speed."

Detroit-based Flyer won the Corinthian division with a phenomenal final-day surge. Bora Gulari, helming for Chuck Holzman, finally showed the speed that's earned him a reputation as one of the area's top sailors. Flyer's entire crew collected prizes along with the other top four Corinthians and the five overall top finishers.

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Audi offers a line of premium vehicles through a network of 270 dealers including the Audi A3 compact; the sporty A4 sedan, Avant and Cabriolet models; the high performance S4 sedan, Avant and Cabriolet models; the high-revving RS 4 sports sedan and Cabriolet (November 2007 launch); the all-new S5 coupe (November 2007 launch) with 354 hp; the design-leading A6 sedan and Avant; the V10-powered high performance S6 sedan; the Audi Q7 performance SUV; the new all-aluminum Audi A8; the S8 with V10 power; the all-new 2008 TT Coupe and Roadster models; and the all-new all-aluminum R8, one of the most exclusive sports cars in the world.

ABOUT THE 2007 AUDI MELGES 24 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
The 2007 Audi Melges 24 U.S. National Championship is hosted by Bayview Yacht Club, with the support of Sponsor/Partners Audi of America, Inc., the Detroit-Area Audi Metro Dealers, Barefoot Wines, Yachtscoring.com, Latis Yachting Solutions, Detroit Medical Center’s Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan, Rock City Marine, RejeX Corrosion Technologies, Tim Wilkes Photography, and Penalty Box Productions.

The Melges 24 is designed by Reichel Pugh and considered the most unique one design sportboat in the world as well as one of the fastest-growing classes of high performance yachts. More information can be found at the Official Web site of the U.S. Melges 24 Class Association (USMCA), the International Melges 24 Class Association (IMCA) and at the Midwest Melges 24 Regional Web Site.

EVENT PRESS OFFICER
Alan Block
(248) 563-0657 - mobile
(248) 808-4086 - office

U.S. MELGES 24 CLASS ASSOCIATION (USMCA) PRESS OFFICER
Joy Dunigan, USMCA Communications Director
(912) 398-5776 - mobile