Franck Cammas and his team seal a first victory for Norauto

by Julia Huvé on 30 May 2016 Lake Garda has been a glittering stage for the GC32 Racing Tour competitors, who battled it out in the first official event of the 2016 season at the GC32 Riva Cup, demonstrating the dramatic potential of their flying catamarans.

With the wind equally as generous as the sun, these beautiful thoroughbreds showed their full power at the foot of the Italian Alps. Showing impressive skill at break-neck speeds, Franck Cammas' crew on board Norauto took the overall lead from day one and on Sunday, they carried off the Riva Cup with a total of eight wins and 10 podiums out of 19 races contested. The months of training have borne fruit. The team is united, effective, and it has definitely found the accelerator pedal.

Faced with strong competition, Norauto has asserted itself, including over the Swiss Team Tilt, which was also a strong contender to win the event; however, their boat had some technical problems. This performance is very encouraging for Franck Cammas’ team, who will be in Chicago from 10th to 12th June for the America's Cup World Series with Norauto and Groupama Team France.

Franck Cammas, Skipper: 'This was our first official event of the GC32 Racing Tour and racing conditions have been exceptional on Lake Garda. We are very pleased to seal a first victory for our new sponsor Norauto, and we had some wonderful supporters here. The hard work from last winter has paid off. We could feel it during the manoeuvres, in the on-board communication and in the speed. There was a tough fight with Tilt, who, unfortunately for them, broke some equipment yesterday. However, it was still very close, and that has also taught us a lot. This result is important for the Chicago AC45 event (the preparatory races for the America's Cup) because the way in which the boats respond is very similar. '

Thibaut Derville, Managing Director of Auto5 (the Belgian branch of Norauto), is in charge of the partnership: 'After a spectacular victory by the Norauto boat in Austria, two weeks ago on the 'pre-event', this is another victory, and a first one on the GC32 Racing Tour 2016. It was produced by a team, led brilliantly by Franck Cammas. Many Congratulations to them! Norauto has made a remarkable entry into sponsorship, and we are delighted to see Franck and his team gaining confidence and skill through their intensive and consistent training. This is a very good omen for the rest of the programme, both for the GC32 circuit and as part of the preparation for the America's Cup. Many Norauto employees, from several different countries, came to support and congratulate the sailors on Lake Garda, and we will do the same throughout the season. A wonderful piece of teamwork! '

Overall results in the Riva Cup after 19 races:

1 - NORAUTO - FRA - F.Cammas - 37 points
2 - Team TILT - SUI - S.Schneiter - 50 points
3 - ARMIN STROM Sailing Team - SUI - F.Marazzi - 79 points
4 - GUNVOR Sailing - SWE - G.Petterson - 86 points
5 - Team Engie - FRA - S.Rogues - 111 points
6 - Spindrift racing - FRA - Y.Guichard - 112 points
7 - ARGO - USA - J.Carroll - 121 points
8 - MALIZIA - YC Monaco - MON - P.Casiraghi - 127 points
9 - ORANGE Racing - NER - Laurent Lenne - 160 points