The great Class40 classic of the English Channel reverts to September for 2020

Fireworks to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Normandy Channel Race, in the port of Caen, May 18th © Jean-Marie Liot

As is the case every 4 years, the Normandy Channel Race will take place in September 2020 in line with the Class40's four-year programme and its transatlantic shift: The Transat race to the USA in May, the Atlantic Cup along the eastern seaboard of the States in June and then a return to Europe in July with the Quebec St Malo.

The only event in the official championship starting and finishing in France in 2020, the Class40's major annual meet should see the return of its stellar line-up of recent years. Indeed, the number to beat stands at 27 craft (achieved in 2016 and 2018). The Notice of Race is available and registration is open at www.normandy-race.com.

Enjoying a firm foothold as the Class40's major annual classic in the English Channel, the Normandy Channel Race unveils its programme for 2020: arrival of the Class40s no later than Wednesday 9 September, student day on the Thursday, opening of the race village to the general public on the Quai Vendeuvre in Caen on Friday 11 September and a start on Sunday 13 for a week of racing in the English Channel along the coast of England, Ireland and Normandy, returning to Caen on the weekend of 19/20 September.

A Class40 with an increasingly large presence in international offshore racing

Year on year, from one event to the next, the Class40 makes an ever more impressive mark on the international landscape of major offshore races, as evidenced in the recent Transat Jacques Vabre and the 2018 Route du Rhum, where the series represented nearly half the total number of participants.

Furthermore, with the launch of the GLOBE40 back in June, the future of the series looks even brighter for 2021 as it prepares to take on a planetary perspective with its round the world race, the final missing link in its bid to establish itself at the forefront of global offshore sailing.

With the No.159 launched in September (Banque du Léman), the number of craft is being plumped up every year, as is the architectural diversity and the technological evolution. This is reflected in the Lombard design Route du Rhum winner No.154, the Owen Clarke design No.157, the new iteration of Sam Manuard's Mach 40.4 for No.159 and the David Raison design for the first 'scow bow' Class40 No.158 (Crédit Mutuel) that Ian Lipinski and Adrien Hardy won the TJV with on her race debut.

In the process, Ian Lipinski beat the 24hr record for the greatest distance covered on a Class40 with 415 miles (or an average speed of 17.5 knots), leaving some of the older generation 60-foot Imocas in his wake.

The renewal of a partnership with the local authorities and the CCI Caen Normandie for 3 years

A quite exceptional example of a high-quality partnership for the past 11 years, the City of Caen, Caen la Mer and its suburbs, the Calvados department, the Normandy Region and the CCI Caen Normandie have all renewed their trust in event organiser Sirius Evènements within the scope of a new fixed contract spanning 3 years from 2020/ 2022.

A great many other partners are also continuing to provide loyal support as they have done for a number of years: France 3 Normandie with its much appreciated minute-slot every day, France Bleu, Leclerc Ifs with the firm backing of its director Jean-François Gruau, Adrea Mutuelle / Aesio Group and the SRCO... Together they form a wonderful community that has built up over the years and always relishes the opportunity to come together again each year in support of the sailors.

After a striking 10th edition, which proved to be a big hit with the public in Caen and Normandy the event is approaching its future and its development with keenness and confidence.

Registration at www.normandy-race.com, special rate until 30 March 2020.