Jean-Luc Petithuguenin’s French team on Paprec win Marina Rubicón Lanzarote 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week, the third event of the season for the leading Grand Prix monohull circuit.
They held their nerve across two difficult, breezy final races, making no significant errors when their main title rivals both faltered, to win their first ever regatta win on the 52 Super Series.
The French team went into the regatta finale, the seventh race of the week, in a very narrow third place, one single point behind this year’s freshly crowned world champions Sled and Andrea Lacorte’s Italian crew on Alkedo Vitamina.
With the current pushing the fleet on to the start line Alkedo were one of three boats to jump the start gun.
Paprec sailed a fantastic final race, always staying in step with the shifting breeze. At the top mark they were fourth with Sled one place behind. But Sled were then penalised and dropped right back to 12th.
Alkedo fought back from their early start to take four boats on the last run and finish fifth whilst Sled could only make a tenth.
So the French team which has Loick Peyron calling tactics and Vendée Globe runner up Yoann Richomme as navigator for his first time, triumphing by two points ahead of Alkedo and five ahead of Sled.
Marina Rubicón Lanzarote 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week
1. Paprec (FRA), Jean-Luc Petithuguenin = 24 pts
2. Alkedo Vitamina (ITA), Andrea Lacorte = 26 pts
3. Sled, Takashi Okura = 31 pts
4. Platoon Aviation (GER), Harm Müller-Spreer = 33 pts
5. No Way Back (NED), Pieter Heerema = 44 pts
6. Trinity Racing (SWE), Joakim Sundberg = 46 pts
7. Alpha + (HKG), Shawn & Tina Kang = 49 pts
8. Alegre (GBR), Andy Soriano = 50 pts
9. Vayu (THA), Whitcraft Family = 55 pts
10. Provezza (TUR), Ergin Imre = 62 pts
11. Crioula (BRA), Eduardo & Renato Plass = 66 pts
12. Teasing Machine (FRA), Eric de Turckheim = 70 pts
13. Gladiator (GBR), Tony Langley = 91 pts