Two teams are better than one

Dongfeng Race Team’s and MAPFRE’s two-boat testing programme came to an end yesterday, with the two red Volvo Ocean 65’s arriving in Lisbon after two weeks of lining up against each other in Sanxenxo in northwest Spain.

The Volvo Ocean Race compared the two-boat testing programme to boxers sparing with their opponents ahead of a fight. MAPFRE likened it to two football teams hanging out together ahead of a big premiership final whilst our skipper, Charles Caudrelier, prefers to think of it as being like two Formula One teams at this week’s Singapore Grand Prix in a pre-race practice run.

There is no doubt that lining up against one of your rivals can be a useful and productive practice, especially just before a round-the-world marathon with one of your closest competitors.

“The Spanish are great favourites and we knew they would be excellent for us and honest during the testing programme,” Caudrelier said in Lisbon as Dongfeng was prepared for lifting out of the water. “We have worked on a lot of sail configurations with them, especially with the J-Zero headsail, and both teams have learned a lot.”

Caudrelier added that the tests had only underlined how tight the racing was going to be as the fleet heads off around the world from Alicante in Spain on October 22nd. “All the details count,” he said, “and no one dominates today. The race promises to be very competitive and exciting.”


“Training with MAPFRE allowed us to work even further on our knowledge of the boat,” Pascal Bidégorry

Dongfeng Race Team navigator Pascal Bidégorry was also happy with the results of the intensive work carried out from the Galician resort. “Training with MAPFRE allowed us to work even further on our knowledge of the boat,” he said. “I’ve known their navigator, Juan Vila, for a long time* so we work with trust and the communication between us is open.”

Along with all the other six Volvo Ocean 65s taking part in the race, Dongfeng will now undergo an intensive overhaul and maintenance programme. This will be the last opportunity for the boat to be lifted out of the water until the Cape Town stopover at the end of November.

In the meantime, the entire Dongfeng Race Team sailing squad has travelled to Newcastle in northeast England to take part in a mandatory sea survival course organised by the Volvo Ocean Race.

The next time the teams will line-up against each other will be on October 8th for the Volvo Ocean Race Prologue from Lisbon to Alicante, followed by the In-port Race on October 14th in Alicante. The official race start takes place on October 22nd in Alicante, Spain.

*Juan Vila was Pascal’s navigator when he was the skipper of the maxi-trimaran Banque Populaire.