BMW ORACLE Racing was a proud guest of honor at the Oracle OpenWorld technical conference last week in San Francisco. From Oracle CEO Larry Ellison’s opening keynote speech to Lance Armstrong, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and a hip-hop closing party, the week was full of goodwill and camaraderie.
Watch a video of the Q&A sessions hosted by Tom “The Chairman” Ehman.
The America’s Cup enjoyed a colorful stop at the San Francisco MOMA. The Cup stood tall in the huge atrium rising more than 100 feet, adorned in colors and hues not normally associated with the blues and greens of seawater.
Team members Ian Burns, Jono MacBeth and Brad Webb saddled up with Lance Armstrong for an early morning tour of San Francisco’s Embarcadero waterfront. The trio was among a group of riders who helped Armstrong launch a new dual green/healthy initiative of riding to work. Below, Burns (left white shirt) and MacBeth (right white shirt) pepper Armstrong with questions while helping set pace in the peloton.
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| (Photo courtesy R. Sellers/Hartmann Studios/Oracle Corp.) |
Rock Opolis, the Oracle Appreciation Event, entertained some 40,000 guests on the final night of the conference. Six bands played on two stages, one outdoors and one indoors.
The Black Eyed Peas enlivened the crowd with their constant-motion hip-hop. Moments earlier on the indoor stage, Don Henley featured as the middle act for the packed audience. (George Johns photos)
Wrapping up the week, team CEO Russell Coutts took to the water as tactician for Doug Douglass in the Melges 32 World Championship, held on the Berkeley Circle. The crew aboard Goombay Smash (below) posted two bullets in the first four races to lead overall by 1 point before throwouts were counted. Their performance in the second half of the event didn’t add up as strongly and they placed seventh overall with 87 points. Luca Lalli’s Italian crew aboard B-lin Sailing captured the title with 48 points.
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| (Photo courtesy JOY/Melges 32 Class Association) |
