Copa del Rey - One third perfect, two thirds to work on for Team ENGIE

by Sébastien Rogues on 8 Aug 2017 We have said it over and over again, the extremely high level of racing is unforgiving. Sébastien Rogues and his Team ENGIE crew are only too aware of this, finishing overall in seventh place in the third event of the GC32 Racing Tour. Still looking for their first major victory on this constantly demanding circuit, Team ENGIE’s foiling catamaran nevertheless had a good start to the competition, even taking the lead at the end of the first day of racing. But the exceptional level of their international competition leaves no room for the slightest error.

Of the 14 races run by the race committee, seven were won by different teams, including one by Team ENGIE. Consistency is therefore essential. Even with four victories, Argo did not manage to win the competition, an incredible situation for the Americans, but it is the consistency of the Japanese from Mamma Aiuto! which this time paid off, enabling them to win one of the GC32 Racing Tour events for the first time. It is certainly this constancy that Team ENGIE is missing. Sébastien Rogues is never far behind, but so far hasn’t had the consistency and small successes that would enable him to achieve his goal of winning a leg and getting on the final podium for the 2017 season. It’s a frustrating situation for Team ENGIE, but even if the spirits on board remain high, all are aware that they need to keep working and the hours spent on the water are essential to acquire the right habits and the experience necessary for success.

“Our results are disappointing and we came to do better, we have to be honest. We have used up our wildcard here in Palma and we can no longer afford to make mistakes. We often have good starts to the regatta, but the following days are complicated and spoil our results. Here in the bay of Palma, the waters are unforgiving; it is quite a complex body of water and doesn’t make it easy to get back in the match if the starts are poor. We need to be able to train a lot more so that we can work on our weaknesses. It is extremely frustrating. It must be said that we are sailing with the discipline’s elite. These are the world's best and I have many years to catch up on, as I come from an offshore racing background. We must work on constancy, which is also built over time.

Having SAP alongside us already allows us to learn, but the bulk of the work will begin now with the analysis of all the data that we have accumulated. We will continue this work at the next two events and hope to extract the core information in order to benefit from it in the future, as well as the understanding of performance and flight of foiling catamarans”, confided Sébastien Rogues.

The next event on the GC32 Racing Tour will take place in mid-September in the wonderful setting of the west coast of Corsica in Calvi. A first for both this circuit and the beautiful island - let us hope that the French waters will be more conducive to good results for Team ENGIE.

Overall ranking 36 Copa del Rey – MAPFRE 2017

1 – Mamma Aiuto! – Japan – 46 points
2 - Argo – USA – 57 points
3 - Realteam – Switzerland – 61 points
4 - Malizia – Monaco Yacht Club– Monaco – 61 points
5 –Movistar – Spain – 70 points
6 - Zoulou – France – 76 points
7 - Team ENGIE – France – 85 points
8 - .film Racing – Australia – 93 points
9 - Armin Strom Sailing Team – Switzerland – 98 points
10 - Codigo Rojo – Argentina – 133 point

Overall ranking GC32 Racing Tour 2017

1 - Realteam – Switzerland – 6 points
2 - Argo – USA – 8 points
3 - Mamma Aiuto! – Japan – 11 points
4 –Movistar – Spain -15 points
5 - Team ENGIE – France – 16 points
6 - Armin Strom Sailing Team – Switzerland – 19 points
7 - Malizia – Monaco Yacht Club – Monaco – 19 points
8 - Team Tilt – Switzerland – 28 points
9 – Zoulou – France – 34 points
10 - Team France Youth – France – 34 points
11 - Codigo Rojo – Argentina – 35 points
12 - .film Racing – Australia – 36 points
13 - Team BDA – Bermuda – 36 points