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69 Mini teams embarked on the 250 nm Plastimo Lorient mini 650 event over the weekend,
On one side, with a proto - the 1019 Etincelle Network, untouchable and imperial, which wins from potron twink with a car ahead of the rest of the fleet, and on the other a nice clique of series - the 979 YC St Lunaire-ARSEP, 951 Fond Apro and 977 Clair'Ocean Sailing - that only a handful of minutes manages to decide on the podium places , the curtain fell in the most beautiful way in the early morning, this Saturday, on the 7th Plastimo Lorient Mini 6.50. As usual, this inaugural event on the 6.50 circuit on the Atlantic coast gave rise to a particularly contested coastal regatta on its doubles format which sets the tempo for the rest of the season. Sport, fun and a lot of conviviality animated the ranks of the race on its 290-mile course between Penmarc'h and Yeu which gathered among the 69 duos on the ranks of the competitors vying for the next Mini-Transat, associated with fans of the class or talents of the sea, happy to offer a little ride aboard these "mini" sailboats with guaranteed thrills.
The honors of the line always have a special flavor. Especially when they come to reward a race led from start to finish with a lead that increases over the miles of a course yet complete, technical and rhythmic alternating all the paces. It was at the end of the frigid night without a moon, when dawn was pointing, at 06:38, that the undisputed leaders, Pierre Le Roy and Cédric Faron, pulled the last edge to the tight near leading alone on the finish of this Plastimo Lorient Mini 6.50. Eyes drawn from salt, cold and fatigue, the two friends did not hide the emotions that sat them at the end of their fantastic ride aboard a small sailboat, sistership of the two-time winner of the Mini-Transat, who was competing in his very first race. A baptism of fire on the water succeeded handily by the duo of this first proto. In the end, he was 2 hours and 15 minutes ahead of the second, the 787 Decosail led by the mixed doubles Nolwenn Pebelier/Nicolas D'Estais, himself followed, eight minutes later by the 3rd proto, the 950 Porsche of François Champion and Paul Marette. For Pierre Le Roy, who already has a Mini-Transat on the series side counter, and who embarked last year on a completely different adventure with the construction of a new proto on David Raison plans, this result is first of all the result of a beautiful friendship with his partner and preparer. It is then the starting point of a season that begins with fanfare and its lot of sparks at the start of the game.
all image © Christophe Breschi
The words of the victors in proto
Pierre Le Roy: "This story started on October 12th when I received the hull of this new boat and I couldn't handle it. Cedric got it back; and since then we've done everything together until this first doubles race. And we slam it! The story is beautiful, it's great! We knew this boat was going strong. We wanted to show it, but without shooting too much, since it comes out of the yard and we still have a lot of work on board. We broke a drift that was cut in half. We will have to look at what happened. We tried to make a nice mark, to take the right wind swings and currents in the right direction. We went to more than 18 knots, especially at the passage of the Teignouse. We were very cold, but we were dry, which changed my life after three years of Pogo 3! It is a great satisfaction to start the story in this way with the association Etincelle Network which makes reintegration professional for young people a little lost. I'm super proud of what we've done. »
Cédric Faron: "We didn't get off to a great start, but we were surprised to get the whole fleet up so quickly and find ourselves in the first buoy in the lead. We discovered the boat that we tested for the first time in this racing context and with so many competitors. We've seen that it works well in all the way. Once we were in front, we did that buzzing by going to the right place. More than the top speed, it was the high average speed that was held that allowed the gaps to be widened. It never decelerated... It's really nice to finish with this first auspicious victory for the rest of Pierre's season. »
If the victory did not seem to be able to slip under the bow of the proto 1019, it was not at all the same story in the camp of the series, where the first of the finish line was played on the wire, in the final lengths, on the strokes of 09 hours this morning, at the end of a course that the first of ropes played on contact and sight throughout. It was even on a final round in match racing that the 979 YC St Lunaire-ARSEP of the duo Hugo Dhallenne/Thibaut Vauchel Camus and the 951 Fond Apro of the tandem Paul Cloarec/Benoit Hantzperg finally concluded the regatta of all times that opposed them, to other serious crews, since the start Thursday at 5 p.m. In the end, two minutes separate the top two in the series standings, which finished 4th and 5th respectively in the scratch.
The words of the serial winners
Hugo Dhallenne: "I did my out-of-race qualification for the Mini Transat two weeks ago and after this race normally it's good. We fought well with the friends. We had a great time on the water and it's really nice to finish with a win. We had to go and get her and fight to the end, it's all the more satisfying! »
Thibaut Vauchel Camus: "From the beginning to the end with three/four different leaders along the way. We led, we played badly, we got caught, we were scared, we came back, we got ironed, and it ended well in speed test in the small air. It played out very little against the 951 which sailed very, very well. We had a great regatta in a good spirit. We took a nice walk with a little tour of the Groix Islands, Belle-Ile, Yeu with beautiful sunsets. It really tastes like coming back! »
The 977 Clair'Ocean Sailing by Claire Montecot and Guillaume Quilfen completes this podium 100% Maxi 6.50, also born of the drawing boards of naval architect David Raison who is a big hit on this Plastimo Mini Lorient 6.50 in conditions of carrying and reaching majority very favorable to rounded noses. Note that the first Pogo 3, the 966 Avelasailing.com of Leo Debiesse and Ediz Onen finished in 5th position in his category, with a gap of 24 minutes on the first. This Saturday afternoon, as the wind begins to run out of steam, arrivals are spreading more and more. At the time of writing, 33 of the 59 crews racing on this Plastimo Lorient Mini 6.50, which regrets ten abandonments, have cut the line. The latest ETAs set by Christian Dumard, weather consultant and Gildas Morvan, race director, see the last one finish between 10pm and midnight this Saturday night. The full ranking will be available online as soon as possible on the website lorientgrandlarge.org
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