Barcelona World Race highlights - Winners press conference

by Barcelona World Race on 5 Apr 2011 Barcelona World Race - Did Virbac-Paprec 3 win this race in the Saint Helena High by going west?

Jean-Pierre Dick: 'No, we have won the race over many legs. It’s true that after stopping at Recife we took a good option but I think that we held the power after Recife, we had to think that we were leading the race. This first option to go towards the west was evident for myself and Loïck, and we had to stop at Recife so we were towards the west and I think the big success was to repair the boat very quickly.

We were lucky because when we have to repair the main sheet track sometimes you can find this very difficult and we made the repairs very quickly. Mapfre also had a technical problem and this was an advantage for us. I think for us there were two main important moments in the race, or maybe not just those two but many important moments during the race.'

You look fresh, are you not tired?

Loïck Peyron:‘Generally speaking if you don’t look tired that means that you haven’t won the race! Think about someone winning the marathon – the first that wins is tired, but the last one to finish is even more tired.

I think that the important thing here is to measure your effort – everything you do must be very calculated. At the beginning I had some problems physically speaking, but it was perfectly ok towards the end. I think it’s very important to take into account our health, but it’s something we’ve done properly – we were able to sleep properly despite the fact that we had to be on permanent alert concerning the boat.'

Jean-Pierre Dick: 'I think our level of tiredness is something we’ll feel in future days because now our goal was to win and this was our driving engine, and I think we’ve managed the sleep side of things very well. Loïck is a large character and we’ve tried to get a balance, which has worked fine between us. It is a key issue because we’ve been in good shape. With Foncia we were competing with them and we managed it well. Experience is something that counts for a lot.'

Differences between 2007-8 Race and this edition? :

Jean-Pierre Dick: 'The race is larger at all levels. At a sporting level, this time we had 14 different boats, it was a very international competition and that was something very attractive for me. The Spanish teams, which were very good, excelled. Probably they are going to be second, third and fourth and that’s fantastic because they have reached a very good level in a very short period of time. We have Mapfre as a team be very serious competitors, it’s been a great addition to the first race. Among our friends and sponsors, particularly in France, this race is very popular and the media have really focused on this second edition which will become part of maritime history.'

'The second edition was larger and more important because there were people like Kito de Pavant and others taking part in the race, and that meant that the race and a greater influence in France or Great Britain and other countries.'

Loick on JP as skipper with most IMOCA 60 miles of recent years, and where does winning put him in the ranks of round the world skippers?

'He is the sailor who has probably sailed the most miles on an IMOCA in the last ten years, tens of thousands of miles, a lot more than other sailors and that counts for a lot. His speciality, his strength is he is so tenacious. It is interesting, we are not exactly twins but we are very complementary.'

Have you fought during the three months, shouted at each other?

Loïck Peyron:'Well maybe a little bit, but not so much. Sometimes we shouted at each other but then we realized that we have done something wrong. But I think that first we think that it’s our fault, and I think we shout at each other when we’ve done something wrong.

And sometimes we’ll do something wrong at the same time and laugh about it. We complement each other. But inevitably when you have two people in a very little room for three months the tension can build and you can see the negative points of the other person, but there is common goal and we have managed this issue very well.'

Was the relationship better between you than in the TJV?

Loïck Peyron:'We didn’t send images back from the TJV so you didn’t see it, but we’re very open people and we know each other much better now. That means there are more possibilities for good mutual understanding between us.'

Biggest memories from the race?

Loïck Peyron:'The most important souvenir for us? I don’t know. I like this little record we made, it’s good for us. We made the record but you must have ideal conditions – we were in perfect conditions and for our boat as well. We sailed very regular, very clean and we beat some of our competitors.'

Jean-Pierre Dick: 'The most beautiful moment was Cape Horn because it represents so many things. The starting line in the South –we had a vision of the Cape, and it was something magnificent because we were so close. We were sailing at 19 knots one mile away from the Cape, and it was something magical. It meant the end of a month of very difficult weather conditions, it was really nice.'

How did you manage the race?

Jean-Pierre Dick: 'Of course, in a race you have to take into account what your competitors do and the first month was very intense with all these competitions and comparisons. We carried on and on certain moments, like when you see an accident on the road, you stop. But then you carry on competing in the race and sometimes when you slow down you can have an accident too, so you have to be alert to everything you see.'

Loïck Peyron: 'We have to monitor our pace but we also have to keep track of our competitors. Every time we lose a boat – and sometimes they are friends – it’s never good news. And the pressure of Mapfre during the second half of the race was very difficult for us – we were fully convinced that we could beat them, and as we were two on board we were happy to have a certain level of competition but it’s not something you can assume.

'We thought, well I thought, that we were less quick than our competitors and we found the ‘Pacific express’ and were sailing faster and faster. Some of our competitors had problems as well, Foncia for instance were very good and our competitors in second and third have learnt very, very quickly – they are excellent sailors. Loick at the beginning said that maybe they wouldn’t be here until the end, but they are still here.'

What’s next?

Jean-Pierre Dick: 'It’s clear for me, I’m going to carry on with IMOCA 60 racing. I changed my life in 2002 when I took part in the Vendee Globe, and now I want to win that. I have a good boat, I know it better and I’ll try to make the race of my life to take part in the next Vendee. That is what is going to occupy my mind in the coming years. I am interested in multihull, Volvo Ocean Races, many things. But I want to carry on with my partners because we’re going to carry on this fantastic story that we have started together.'

Loïck Peyron:'But I haven’t said I won’t do another round the world tour again – if I could do it with my family that would be perfect, my children would love that!!

Otherwise I would like to repeat this round the world race because it’s something fantastic. There’s always this fear when you start and obviously it’s a long time – sometimes over three months you ask yourself ‘what am I doing here?’ There are difficult moments obviously, and there are many things we cannot control. But all we share all these things and make people dream. And I think that what we do is useful.'

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