Sea, Sail & Surf news

Du grand large à la plage : Toute l’actualité des sports de glisse depuis 2000

Vendée Globe

Marc Guillemot and the Safran Group to line up for another Vendée Globe

vendredi 17 décembre 2010Redaction SSS [Source RP]

Toutes les versions de cet article : [English] [français]

The Safran Group, which has been alongside Marc Guillemot since 2005, decided to give some time to the skipper to think about whether he wanted to take part in the next Vendée Globe or not. He has now given his answer. On the 11th November 2012, the skipper from la Trinité will indeed be there on the starting line of the legendary round the world race aboard his 60-foot monohull Safran.

After coming third in the Route du Rhum Route du Rhum #RouteDuRhum -La Banque Postale a month ago, Marc Guillemot has just decided he would like to take part in what will be his second Vendée Globe with the Safran Group, renewing once again the mutual confidence that exists between them.

“I was really privileged to be given the time to think things through. Setting off again for another campaign with people, who have never put the pressure on me is a privilege that I appreciate, as everything can be decided calmly. I really felt like giving it another go after the last Vendée Globe, but I wanted to be sure that I was really up for it and as keen to achieve something as before. In order to commit myself to this, I had to make sure that everything was clear in my family. The two conditions have been satisfied and so the decision was an easy one to take,” explained Marc Guillemot.

Trust and performance remain therefore his watchwords :

“Since the start of the partnership with Safran, we’ve had a lot of discussions with the designers at VPLP and Guillaume Verdier, with many of the engineers in the Group and with my team, which has made this project what it is, as human relationships are a key element for me.”

Going beyond the regular repairs, the boat has undergone some major changes during her winter refits. The one that is about to begin will be particularly important :

“Each year, we have a busy schedule : we have been fairly ambitious with the details and concerning every aspect, whether we are talking about weight savings, the improvement of the autopilots or changes to the rig. With this quest for performance, we wish to get Safran in shape for the next Vendée after the Europa Race and the 2011 Transat Jacques Vabre Transat Jacques Vabre #TJV2015 ,” concluded Marc Guillemot.

On the same wavelength as the skipper, Gérard Le Page, CEO of Safransixty, cannot hide his satisfaction :

“We were always determined, but we agreed to give some time to Marc to think about his commitment. We are very pleased about his decision. It is true that here at Safran we count on long term partnerships. But above all it is our employees, all very attached to Marc Guillemot, who will be able to contribute once again to this project and can look forward to another adventure.”

Right up to the 2012 Vendée Globe, this project will see some more improvements resulting from this close collaboration between the sponsor and the team : Even if we work in very different worlds, between the designers, Marc’s team and ourselves, we are all very clear about the ultimate goal : achieving sporting greatness. At one point there were more than 80 engineers involved in working on this project, on the systems or materials. There will be just as many in the next few months ensuring that Marc can have some good races, allowing us once again to trace a great trajectory together on the word’s oceans,” declared Gérard Le Page.

- Info Presse Mille & une vagues / www.safransixty.com



A la une