MOD70 European Tour - Prizegiving at the Yacht Club Italiano

by Sabina Mollart-Rogerson on 5 Oct 2012 At the famous Yacht Club Italiano in Genoa, Wednesday October 3rd, the glittering prizegiving for the first MOD70 European Tour lowered the curtain on the first exciting season of competition in the new MOD70 class. Winners of the Krys Ocean Race and second overall in the MOD70 European Tour, Yann Guichard and the crew of Spindrift racing have won the 2012 Multi One Championship. Teams are already looking forwards to next year!

The gala evening was a beautiful end to a great season of competition, between July 7th and October 2nd 2012, the five MOD70’s -Race for Water, Foncia, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, Spindrift racing and Musandam-Oman Sail have enjoyed 50 days of competition, racing at high speeds, high intensity at close quarters no matter if the format has been transoceanic, offshore or round the buoys sprint races.

The first Krys Ocean Race (7-12 July), the transatlantic from New York to Brest was won by Spindrift racing and was completed in less than five days at an average speed of more than 25kts.

The inaugural MOD70 European Tour delivered a combined test of offshore and inshore racing, joining Kiel (Germany), Dun Laoghaire by Dublin (Ireland), Cascais (Portugal), Marseille (France) and Genoa (Italy) over the course of one full month of racing, from September 2nd to October 2nd. The finishes proved incredibly close, often only seconds separating the top finishers and results never concluded until the finish line was crossed. Michel Desjoyeaux’s Foncia won this inaugural edition.

As for the 70 foot (22 metre) one design MOD70, they have proven to be the perfect platform, almost beyond expectation. They have proven very fast, reliable, seaworthy and perfectly evenly matched for speed. Capable of almost 40kts, they raced in all wind conditions without any technical problems. In the end it was the human performance, revealing the talents of the crew of six offshore and eight inshore, and not any technological advantage which made the vital difference.

And so this season is one which passed with flying colours. Next year the fleet will grow with the addition of Jean-Pierre Dick on Virbac-Paprec. There will be a new MOD70 European Tour in the spring, and a world tour to follow.

Yann Guichard, skipper of Spindrift racing, winner of the Multi One Championship: 'First was that super-fast transatlantic and then a tour of Europe, both very stressful and high intensity but in the end it is the consistency which pays. Michel (Desjoyeaux) is three and one, we one and two. That is a great start for the first MOD70 season! It motivates us for the future too, continuing our work and efforts to do well in 2013. I am really happy. We are a new team which we built with Léo Lucet from the ground up in less than a year, so it is great to win the Multi One Championship in 2012. I’m happy for myself and for the team that we did so well. One of our strengths is that we worked so well as a team, there were always good combinations on board and a good atmosphere. It worked, the winning spirit was developed. And that is the role of the skipper. We had regular guys on board, as well as Pascal Bidégorry and others, and I am really pleased to have had him and everyone with us through the season'

Marco Simeoni, President of Multi One Design S.A: 'For us, it was a season test. It was necessary to demonstrate the quality of the platform, the boats were solid, reliable and efficient. In the Krys Ocean Race they sailed under extreme conditions but all finished safely in good condition, even Race for Water which was damaged due to their encounter with a container. The European Tour was also a challenge in terms of event organization and implementation of different race formats, inshore and offshore. In the end, it was amazing. The suspense was incredible. The one design really fulfilled its role, the boats finished in just a few minutes. The sailors made the difference. For them, it was extremely challenging. They were never able to relax for one month. That also contributes to the test of the tour. Inshore, the show was superb. I still have in mind the images of Dublin City races sailed in 20 knots of wind, the sun, it was magical. I'm really happy. It has been successful in every sphere in 2012. Given the current economic climate to be able to develop a circuit like we did this year is fantastic. For next year, our schedule is set and we are looking for title partners the World Tour. We will have at least six boats. And there is a very high probability that may be seven. '

Franck David, Executive Director of Multi One Design SA: 'It is a pleasure to have 100% of the MOD70’s here Genoa after this fantastic season. We had great, high level sport on this European Tour which was played out in the end on the last miles of the last leg between Foncia and Spindrift racing, and between Musandam-Oman Sail and Race for Water for third place. As such, it is a success. And that's the whole point of the one design. The boats are fast and efficient. This is a technical success. It was a challenge to put together 30 days of racing, in five countries lived at a very fast pace. Today we have four cities who wish to continue with us next year. We already know that in 2013, the course will be from south to north, so it will be another great story, perhaps even better. Now, there is more to do to see this fleet grow and internationalise. Paprec-Virbac will join us after the Vendée Globe. Then we still have boat N ° 2 for sale. There are active discussions with foreign teams: it is our goal to develop the international circuit as much as possible. '

General classification Multi One Championship 2012:

1 - Spindrift racing EUR (Yann Guichard, FRA)
2 – Foncia, FRA, (Michel Desjoyeaux, FRA)
3 - Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, FRA (Sébastien Josse, FRA)
4 - Race For Water, SUI (Stève Ravussin, SUI)
5 - Musandam, Oman Sail OMA (Sindey Gavignet FRA)

Rank Krys Ocean Race:

1-Spindrift racing (Yann Guichard) arrived 12 July '37 to 12 08 25.3 knots average (theoretical route) in 4d 21h 08 '37
2-Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (Sébastien Josse) arrived July 12 at 13h 19 '49 to 25.06 knots average (theoretical route) in 4d 22h 19 '49
3-Foncia (Michel Desjoyeaux) arrived July 12 at 13h 47 '57 at 24.96 knots average (theoretical route) in 4d 22h 47 '57
4-Musandam, Oman Sail (Sidney Gavignet) arrived on July 12 at 22h 05 '38 to 23.3 knots average (theoretical route) in 5d 07h 05 '38
5-Race For Water (Steve Ravussin) arrived on July 13 at 07h 32 '32 at 18.47 knots average (theoretical route) in 6d 16h 32 '32

Rank MOD70 European Tour 2012:

1/ Foncia avec 284 points
2 / Spindrift racing avec 282 points
3 / Race For Water avec 244 points
4/ Musandam-Oman Sail avec 242 points
5/ Groupe Edmond de Rothschild avec 228 Multi One Design website