Rolex Fastnet Race: SVR Lazartigue is first to Cherbourg, Lead change in supermaxis
by Richard Gladwell in Cowes 28 Jul 00:44 PDT
SVR Lazrtigue crosses the finish line in Cherbourg - Rolex Fastnet Race - July 28, 2025 © Paul Wyeth
SVR Lazartigue is the first of three Ultim 100ft foiling trimaran, to finish the 2025 Rolex Fastnet Race, and is the first home in the 450 boat fleet.
Skippered by Tom Laperche (28yrs) finished at 0438hrs BST for an elapsed time of 1d 17hr 18min about 8hrs outside her race record set in 2023. The course record holder sailed with six crew: Tom Laperche, Amélie Grassi, Antoine Gautier, Emilien Lavigne, Franck Cammas and Peter Burling.
Tom Laperche - Skipper, Trimaran SVR-Lazartigue:
"Two entries in the Rolex Fastnet Race and two wins aboard Trimaran SVR-Lazartigue - I'm thrilled," said skipper Tom Laperche. "This race is a huge part of sailing history and it really means something, especially this year with four Ultim boats on the start line. I had great memories of the last edition - we had a real battle with Banque Populaire. The start in the Solent had been intense, and I was a bit anxious we'd have a repeat. But this time, it was much more tactical - a real regatta. We got off to a great start, led out of the Solent, and then the wind along the English coast was very patchy. The Irish Sea was tricky. We had a good push toward the Fastnet. Rounding it in the lead (after 1 day, 4 hours, 2 minutes, and 53 seconds) aboard SVR-Lazartigue, doing 40 knots, was just amazing. Transitioning from upwind to downwind at full speed - that was awesome. The return leg was mostly downwind, but we had to make strategic calls to choose the best gybes while keeping a close eye on our rivals. The crew did an incredible job - there were a lot of maneuvers. The boat had only just been relaunched on July 3, so this win is also a validation of all the work done over the past few months in the MerConcept workshops in Concarneau. It's very promising for the future, but we'll keep pushing to get even better."
Trimaran SVR-Lazartigue also won the previous edition in 2023, setting the course record of 1 day, 8 hours, 38 minutes, and 27 seconds (until 2019, the finish line was in Plymouth). At that time, Tom Laperche was co-skipper alongside François Gabart.
"This is my first victory as skipper," added Tom. "During our four years sailing together, François taught me so much. This transition is just beautiful. It's an incredible story."
The team is now focused on upcoming two-handed races with Franck Cammas joining Tom Laperche as co-skipper.
Franck Cammas: "The Rolex Fastnet Race gave me a great opportunity to discover this very unique boat. The crew already handles her extremely well. Tom has fully embraced his skipper role - he always knows how to trim the boat and where to set the pace. He anticipates everything and finds the balance between speed and safety. We have full confidence in him. That's hugely motivating for what's ahead."
Amélie Grassi: "A great win for Trimaran SVR-Lazartigue - we keep the title! It was a fantastic race with strong teamwork throughout. Everything felt fluid on board. As always in the Rolex Fastnet Race, it was intense. Starting with 450 boats in the Solent was a bit of a rush! Then we had to handle lots of sail changes as we managed patches of light wind on the way to the Fastnet. We never stopped working. On the way back, the boat was flying over flat seas - it was magical."
At 0830hrs BST on July 28, two other Ultims had finished the 695nm course.
Banque Populaire crossed the finish line of Cherbourg, France in a time of 1d 18hr 3min, almost 50 minutes astern.
Actual Ultim 4 was third to finish taking 1d 20hrs and 46mins or 3hrs 28minutes behind SVR Lazartigue.
The other two Ultims were still racing, as was the remainder of the fleet.
Overnight there has been a lead change in the Supermaxi class with Black Jack 100 passing SHK Scallywag and has worked out a lead 8nm, with Leopard 20nm behind the leader. As of 0900hrs BST, Black Jack had 193nm to sail to the finish line in Cherbourg.
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