Please select your home edition
Edition
C-Tech 2021 SnuffAir 728x90 TOP

Orma Grand Prix at Lorient

by Event Media on 29 Apr 2003
Second day of racing of the 60ft trimaran Lorient Grand Prix, first event of the ORMA 60 ft trimaran 2003 championship. Gilles Martin-Raget http://www.martin-raget.com/
The Lorient Grand Prix was completed on Sunday with the victory of Frank Cammas and his crew on Groupama who won this event at their home port for the second year running, after a great duel with Geant.

Three races were run on Sunday in a south westerly wind of 20 knots with a 3 to 4 metre swell, and for the first time during this Grand Prix, the trimarans raced under reduced sail (a reef in the mainsail and a staysail) before re-hoisting full sail for the last race.

The testing conditions favoured the most experienced teams such as Groupama, Banque Populaire and Belgacom, the latter two taking victories on the last day.

Going into the last day of racing the battle was between Michel Desjoyeaux and Frank Cammas separated by three points overall, going into the last race, the eighth, there was still all to play for, but the crew of Groupama, more familiar with this type of racing, took the final advantage.

Third place on the podium was equally closely contested between Banque Populaire, Belgacom and Sodebo. It was Jean Luc Nélias, very incisive on the final day, who finally took third place.

Significantly the level of competitiveness of all 11 trimarans is high. In eight races, seven trimarans finished a race in the top three. It was not sufficient to show flashes of brilliance, consistency was important, this was illustrated by Belgacom who despite winning three races only finished third overall.

Geant and Sodebo appeared well prepared technically and the crew fully trained. Respectively 2nd and 5th these two boats new to ORMA Grand Prixs
showed a strong potential for the future.

Banque Populaire always well at ease in the stronger breezes and Biscuits la Trinitaine rapid downwind, finished mid-table despite several good moments.

Further back, Foncia and Bayer CropScience had a bad Grand Prix. Foncia for technical reasons (mainsail torn, pulpit damaged ) and a lack of training due to a delayed launching. On Bayer, Jean Maurel took over the helm for the first time in the Grand prix replacing Fred le Peutrec and despite several good beats the crew could not really consolidate these at the finish.

Ninth, Banque Covefi, was strongly sailed by her new skipper Stève Ravussin, despite the boat being built over ten years ago. Finally Sopra Group and
Gitana always oscillating between eighth and eleventh place....

On Sopra Group, Laurent Bourgnon who replaced Philippe Monnet discovered a boat just out of the boatyard and not technically ready. Gitana which often showed good starts and good tactics, seemed to suffer from a lack of speed and the team will need to resolve this if they hope to progress.

Next rendezvous for the multihulls the 11 May for the start of the Cherbourg du Challenge Mondial Assistance. Next Grand Prix the GP of Italy
(Cagliari/Sardinia) on 13 to 15 June. -- Translation from the event media by
the ISAF

Overall Results after 8 Races

1 - Groupama, Franck Cammas: 1 + 1 +2 + 8 + 2 + 2 +2 + 2 = 20 points

2 - Géant, Michel Desjoyeaux : 2+2 +3 +1+3 +3 + 6 + 6 = 26 pts

3 - Belgacom, Jean Luc Nélias : 4+ 5 +1 + 6 + 12 + 1 + 3 + 1 = 33 pts

4 - Banque Populaire, Lalou Roucayrol : 5+ 6 + 6 + 4+ 1 + 6 +1 + 7 = 36 pts

5 - Sodebo, Thomas Coville : 3+ 8 + 4 + 3+5 +7 + 8 + 3 = 41 pts

6 - Biscuits La Trinitaine, Marc Guillemot : 6+3 +7 + 5+6 + 5 + 5 + 5 = 42
pts

7 - Foncia, Alain Gautier : 9+7 + 8 + 2+ 4 +12 + 4 + 4 = 50 pts

8 - Bayer CropScience, Jean Maurel : 8 + 4 + 5 + 7+9 + 4 + 7 + 10 = 54 pts

9 - Banque Covefi, Stève Ravussin : 7+ 9 + 9 + 12 + 12 + 8 + 9 + 9 = 75 pts

10 - Sopra Group, Laurent Bourgnon : 10+10 + 11 + 9 + 7 + 9 + 10 + 11= 77
pts

11 - Gitana, Lionel Lemonchois : 11+11 +10 +10 + 8 + 10 + 11 + 8 = 79 pts

Event website: http://www.multis-online.com
RS Sailing 2021 - FOOTERSwitch One DesignPredictWind - Offshore App 728x90 BOTTOM

Related Articles

Rooster - Supporting Women in Sailing
Here to amplify women's voices, create better gear, and help shape a more inclusive future At Rooster, we're proud to be part of a movement that's putting women at the forefront of sailing - not just on race day, but every day.
Posted today at 8:00 am
5.5 Metre German Open in Warnemunde day 1
Race wins go Beta Crucis and New Moon III New Moon III (BAH 25, Christoph Burger, Kim Chabani, Peter Vlasov) is the early leader after two races in great conditions at the 2025 5.5 Metre German Open in Warnemunde.
Posted today at 7:59 am
Casa Vela Cup 2025 at St Francis Yacht Club Day 2
Another flawless day for top-ranked French skipper Pauline Courtois and her team Another thrilling day of racing with top-ranked French skipper Pauline Courtois and her Match in Pink Normandy Elite Team continuing their unbeaten streak with fifteen straight wins in the qualifying round robin stage, asserting a dominant lead.
Posted today at 5:18 am
XR41 shines at Fyn Rundt with 1st and 2nd in class
Formula X and Xbox dominate prestigious Danish regatta under new conditions In a weekend of challenging conditions and fierce competition,the high-performance racer secured 1st and 2nd in its class, and 4th and 5th overall out of 220 boats at the prestigious Fyn Cup, a 145-nautical-mile regatta around Denmark's island of Funen.
Posted today at 4:20 am
Team Racing Worlds at Newport, RI, Day 1
Tricky conditions & challenging 2v2 format tests Team Racing fleet Gray skies, intermittent rain and shifty light winds were not enough to dampen the energy and enthusiasm on Narragansett Bay for Day 1 of the Team Racing World Championship under way at Harbour Court.
Posted today at 3:02 am
16th 151 Miglia-Trofeo Cetilar preview
Registered entries for the race now total 229 This will be the fourth event in the International Maxi Association's 2024-25 Mediterranean Maxi Offshore Challenge, which began with last October's Rolex Middle Sea Race.
Posted on 29 May
Sailors look ahead to 20th Ida Lewis Distance Race
PHRF will have its own share of excitement this year Set for its 20th running in 2025, the annual Ida Lewis Distance Race has solidified its reputation as a well-organized, competitively challenging overnight offshore event.
Posted on 29 May
Giorgio Armani Superyacht Regatta day 2
Moat and Gelliceaux are class leaders The second day of racing at the Giorgio Armani Superyacht Regatta and Southern Wind RendezVous was characterised by a light northerly breeze, which went on to drop below an initial 10 knots and swing slightly to the east.
Posted on 29 May
76th Wilson Trophy at West Kirby
24 teams included five from the USA and four from Ireland Thirty-four of the best teams in the world competed over two and a half days for the coveted Wilson Trophy, including five teams from the USA and four from Ireland. The event used a Swiss League round robin format followed by the knockout stages.
Posted on 29 May
America's Cup fillibustered by Challengers
A Cup in turmoil - Protocol is unsigned - with entries due to open on Sunday. Updated story: America's Cup got underway in Rome on Monday, with Round 2 of the official welcoming ceremonies on Wednesday in Naples. However three teams are working in collusion and have again issued statements within minutes of each other.
Posted on 29 May