Prost Grand Prix Race Car Up for Bid on Yahoo! Auctions
4 October 2000
Prost Grand Prix Race Car Up for Bid on Yahoo! Auctions
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--Oct. 4, 2000--Winning Bidder Gets Opportunity to Own Prost Grand Prix Formula 1 Race Car Chassis from the 2000 F1 Season with Proceeds Benefiting UNICEF
Yahoo! , a leading global Internet communications, commerce and media company, today announced the launch of an international charity auction of the Formula 1 Prost Grand Prix race car chassis on Yahoo!(R)Auctions (http://auctions.yahoo.com), the fastest growing, globally-branded free auction site on the Internet. This marks the first time a Formula 1 race car chassis will be auctioned online. Open bidding begins Oct. 19 and continues through Oct. 29, 2000, 20:00 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). More information can be found at http://prost.yahoo.com.
Yahoo!, an official sponsor of the Prost Racing Team during the 2000 season, has teamed up with Alain Prost, President of the Team and four-time Formula 1 World Champion, to donate one of the five authentic Formula 1 Grand Prix Car chassis manufactured by Prost Grand Prix during the 2000 Formula 1 season, to be auctioned on Yahoo! Auctions. The season ends Oct. 22 in Malaysia. Proceeds will benefit UNICEF (www.unicef.org), the United Nations Children's Fund, which operates in more than 160 countries and territories worldwide.
"Yahoo! Auctions and Prost Grand Prix are giving fans of both auto racing and auctions a rare chance to own a piece of auto racing history," said Rich Godwin, brand manager, Yahoo! Inc. "What race fan has not dreamed of owning the chassis of a Formula 1 race car, and Yahoo! Auctions is pleased to give our consumers a chance to reach the checkered flag in this auction."
The Prost AP03 No. 1 chassis is the first race car built by the team for the 2000 Championship. Driven through the Formula 1 circuits by Prost Grand Prix's drivers, Frenchman Jean Alesi and young German Nick Heidfeld, it will be auctioned as a complete race car, without its engine. The Prost AP03 No. 1, the one in which Jean Alesi will compete at the Japanese Grand Prix on October 9, will make a prestigious addition to a museum or any historic car collection.
"I am delighted that Yahoo! and Prost Grand Prix have launched the first-ever Formula 1 car auction," said Prost Grand Prix's President Alain Prost. "I am also very proud that, thanks to this initiative, my Team will be able to make a contribution to a worthy cause, by donating the proceeds from the auction to UNICEF."
People around the world can participate in the bidding in their local language and currency through local Yahoo! Auctions sites. Because the auction information will be posted in English and bidding in U.S. dollars, participating local Yahoo! Auctions sites will provide translated instructions and the ability to convert bids from local currency to U.S. dollars. In order to bid, consumers must register at Yahoo! Auctions (http://user.auctions.yahoo.com/show/signup). The winning bid will be posted on October 29.
Shipping and handling is sponsored by Calberson (www.calberson.com), the leader in France for Groupage & Distribution activities and one of the first European operators with its parent company, GEODIS. The delivery of the car to the new owner will be done in France, at Prost Grand Prix's state-of-the-art factory in Guyancourt, near Paris.
AP03 No. 1 chassis details: Registered name - AP03-01. First shake down: Jan. 27, 2000 (in Magny-Cours, France. Driven by Nick Heidfeld); Car launch: Feb. 1, 2000 (in Montmelo, Spain. Driven by Jean Alesi); Distance covered in testing: 2747 km (through Oct. 1, 2000); Distance covered in Grand Prix: 2799 km (through Oct. 1, 2000); Car drivers on Grand Prix circuit: Jean Alesi: Australia, San Marino, Spain; Monaco; Great Britain; Belgium; Italy; and United States. Nick Heidfeld: Brazil; Germany; France; Austria; and Belgium. For the complete details about the car: http://prost.yahoo.com
About Yahoo! Auctions
As the largest globally-branded free online auction service, Yahoo!(R)Auctions (http://auctions.yahoo.com) operates in 16 countries and 11 languages, giving consumers access to the unique and antique through its ever-expanding world of collectibles. Launched in September of 1998, Yahoo! Auctions offers more than two million items to choose from in categories including coins, autos and sports memorabilia, as well as extraordinary items found through unique charity, featured and merchant auctions. With the support of Yahoo!'s global community of users and comprehensive tools, Yahoo! Auctions' consumers can bid and sell with confidence as part of Yahoo!'s unparalleled audience of 156 million consumers worldwide.
About Yahoo!
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