Last Tuesday François Gabart arrived in Marseille at the helm of his trimaran SVR Lazartigue, which is making a tour of the Mediterranean to meet staff of the Kresk group. It seemed like a good opportunity for Tip & Shaft to talk with him about the performance of the trimaran and of course also the dispute between his team and the Ultim 32/23 class which is now bound for the courts.
François Gabart opened up on the dispute between his team and the Ultim 32/23 class – in effect made up of Sodebo, Banque Populaire, Actual, and more recently Gitana Team – regarding the rules compliance of the trimaran SVR Lazartigue. Since then the parties have stuck to their guns. Tip & Shaft runs back over the chain of events which now finds a deadlock situation.
A little over a month after the launch in Concarneau, of his new Ultim SVR Lazartigue François Gabart takes stock of his first sails aboard the giant trimaran on which the emphasis was focused heavily on aerodynamics.
On May 27 the French Kresk cosmetics group, owned by Didier Tabary, announced their four-year commitment to support François Gabart and the purchase from Macif of the Ultim M101, which will carry the colours of the SVR, Lazartigue and Fillmed brands. Tip & Shaft tells us how this alliance came to pass in a very short time.
The announcement came as a bombshell last week, a bolt from the blue because it was so unexpected. French insurance giants Macif ended their Ultim programme when the new trimaran which they own is due to sail in a year’s time. So, why this decision? Why this timing? And what are the consequences for François Gabart and for his company MerConcept? Tip & Shaft investigate.
With the Covid-19 pandemic affecting the whole planet, it has meant a great deal of uncertainty for sport in general and sailboat races are no exception. To try to get to grips with this new situation, Tip & Shaft is carrying out a series of five interviews about the future of sail racing. Second to respond is François Gabart, skipper of the trimaran Macif but also the founder and boss of MerConcept.
Thursday this week saw a hearing held in the Paris court to examine the action brought by the Kresk group against the Ultim 32/23 class, the two parties opposing on whether the SVR Lazartigue trimaran conforms to the exact rules of the class (see our article). During the process Samuel Tual, CEO of Actual, and Ronan Lucas, director of Team Banque Populaire, explained themselves during a telephone press briefing. Tip & Shaft looks back on the day.
SVR Lazartigue, François Gabart’s new Ultim, was launched last Thursday in Concarneau in blazing sunshine in front of a large crowd. Born as M101 the new giant was known for a long time only by this code name after the withdrawal of its initial sponsor. The VPLP design is the result of 150,000 hours of work and is characterised by its strong design choices. It is, in essence, a radical but very carefully conceived concept, just like its skipper who was very involved in every stage of the design. Here is our take on this newest generation Ultim.
To analyse the first few days of the Arkea Ultim Challenge-Brest, Tip & Shaft interviewed François Gabart, who has left the helm of SVR-Lazartigue to Tom Laperche, Franck Cammas, former skipper of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild, and meteorologist Dominic Vittet, a member of Sodebo Ultim 3’s routing team.
Last Wednesday the SVR-Lazartigue team held a press briefing at the Maison de la Bretagne in Paris to announce that, in early 2024, it will be the young Tom Laperche who will compete in the Arkea Ultim Challenge-Brest as François Gabart chooses to focus on double handed and crewed sailing with the boat. And at the same time they talked of integration back into the Ultim 32/23 class, as we announced two weeks ago.
The General Assembly (AGM) of the Ultim 32/23 class took place on Friday in Paris. There the class announced the inclusion now of the SVR Lazartigue team which has finally agreed to modify François Gabart’s trimaran to comply with the rule. A four-year calendar has also been unveiled which includes the return of the Transat Jacques Vabre this year, upsetting the Imoca class. Tip & Shaft tells you more.
After an impressive 2022 season on the Figaro Beneteau circuit which was marked by four victories from four solo races, including winning the pinnacle Solitaire du Figaro and the title of French Elite offshore racing champion, Tom Laperche is preparing to compete on The Ocean Race with the crew of Holcim PRB before he then continues the 2023 season on François Gabart’s Ultim SVR Lazartigue. That is quite the programme for a 25-year-old sailor who talks to Tip & Shaft.
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