Olympus Official Sponsorship Agreement with Ferrari F1 Racing Team Enters Second Year
Tokyo, Japan, Mar. 04, 2004 - (JCN Newswire) - Olympus Corporation (President: Tsuyoshi Kikukawa) is pleased to announce the start of its second season as an official sponsor of the Scuderia Ferrari Formula One racing team (hereinafter Ferrari). The 2004 F1 racing season begins on March 5 in Melbourne with preliminary racing for the Australian Grand Prix. Once again this year, Ferrari cars bearing the Olympus logo will participate in the drama and excitement at racing circuits worldwide. In addition, Olympus support for the Ferrari team will be featured in a variety of corporate advertising and television commercials. Olympus' official sponsorship and support for the Ferrari team takes a variety of forms that reflect the company's unique heritage. Looking into the Heart of the Matter Olympus industrial videoscopes, fiberscopes, rigid borescopes are used to inspect and maintain the engine that is at the heart of every Ferrari racing cars, and are taken to each Grand Prix event so that Ferrari team engineers can perform on-the-spot maintenance inspections. Thanks to these Olympus products, the engineers can check for unusual wear or damaged parts inside the cylinders without dismantling the engine. At the factory, the fiberscopes and borescopes are linked to digital cameras and used to take photos that show what each internal component looks like when new. The photos serve as a benchmark for comparison that allows the condition of internal components to be quickly assessed at the circuit. Carrying the Voice of Ferrari to the World Twenty specially produced Ferrari Red Olympus “Voice-Trek DM-20” digital voice recorders presented to Ferrari's Motor Sport press team are used to bring the comments of drivers Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello, and General Director Jean Todt, to fans around the world. Ferrari Limited-Edition Digital Camera In October 2003, Olympus commemorated its sponsorship of Ferrari by introducing the DIGITAL MODEL 2003, a special limited-edition digital camera sold for only 10,000 units worldwide. As the first digital camera in the world to be officially sanctioned by Ferrari it featured a Ferrari Red body with the 'Cavallino Rampante - Prancing Horse' Ferrari logo on the lens barrier, and proved so popular that the 1,000 units offered for sale in Japan were an immediate sellout. DIGITAL MODEL 2003 cameras were also presented to Michael Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello, and Jean Todt for use by Ferrari team personnel. Ferrari F1 Racing Team Official Sponsor Website A special Ferrari F1 Racing Team Official Sponsor Olympus website (URL: http://www.olympus-racing.com/) has been set up to provide F1 racing information, forecasts and reports for each Grand Prix race. In addition, it will feature regularly updated Olympus E-1 digital SLR photos by Olympus F1 official photographers, of the action at each Grand Prix event. In the area of digital cameras, where its products include the Olympus E-System interchangeable-lens-type digital camera system that provides the highest standard of digital image quality, and in the area of medical equipment, where its gastro-endoscopes hold approximately a 70% share of the world market, as well as in other areas of its business, Olympus aims for the No. 1 position worldwide, and is actively implementing this strategy not just in Japan, but also in Europe, the Americas, and the rest of Asia. Through its support for Ferrari, which continues to be the No. 1 team in the widely recognized, highly competitive world of F1 Grand Prix racing, and through the Ferrari team philosophy that embodies a sense of speed, precision, and a thorough passion for victory, Olympus will continue to affirm its position as one of the world's top-class global major brands. Information Sheet Scuderia Ferrari As the only team to participate in Formula One Grand Prix racing since its inception in 1950, Ferrari has won 13 driver's world championships, 13 constructor's world championships, and a total of 167 individual Grand Prix races. With the appointment of Jean Todt as General Director in 1993, it has taken performance to a new level, winning a historic nine world championship titles in the five-year period between 1999 and 2003 (four driver's titles for M. Schumacher and five constructor's titles for Ferrari). With its victory last year, it achieved another historic first by winning the constructor's world championship title for five years in a row. 2004 Ferrari Drivers Michael Schumacher Born in Germany on January 3, 1969, Michael Schumacher earned 93 driver's points during the 2003 season, making him the world's the top-ranked F1 driver. He made his F1 debut at the Belgian GP in 1991 and won his first world championship in 1994. In all, he has been named world champion six times, in 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003. Rubens Barrichello Born in Brazil on May 23, 1972, Rubens Barrichello took fourth place in the 2004 season with 65 points. He made his F1 debut in 1993, and after driving for both the Jordan and Stewart racing teams, joined Ferrari in 2000. Ferrari Rankings Year Rank Constructor's Points 1999 1 128 2000 1 170 2001 1 179 2002 1 221 2003 1 158 2004 F1 Racing Schedule No. GP Event Date 1 Australian GP 3/7 2 Malaysian GP 3/21 3 Bahrain GP 4/4 4 San Marino GP 4/25 5 Spanish GP 5/9 6 Monaco GP 5/23 7 European GP 5/30 8 Canadian GP 6/13 9 US GP 6/20 10 French GP 7/4 11 British GP 7/11 12 German GP 7/25 13 Hungarian GP 8/15 14 Belgian GP 8/29 15 Italian GP 9/12 16 China GP 9/26 17 Japan GP 10/10 18 Brazilian GP 10/24 About Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. established in 1919, provides value in areas of Medical and Health-care, Imaging and Information, and Industrial Applications under its core competence, "Opto-Digital Technology" which represents a complete integration of traditional optical technology and advanced digital technology. As a leading endoscope manufacturer, Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. offers a wide variety of excellent products such as medical endoscopes for gastrointestinal and surgical applications. Olympus Optical products are highly regarded for their superb image quality. The licensing agreement for Wavefront Coding(TM) technology will help Olympus Optical to achieve enhanced customer satisfaction through continuing improvements in endoscope imaging technology.For further information, please visit the Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. home page at: www.olympus.co.jp/indexE.html http://www.olympus.co.jp/indexE.html>