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2008/07/07 - 14h46
First F18 World Championship for Cammas and Lagarrigue
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| F18 Worlds - from 5th to 11th July in Nigrán (Pontevedra) - Spain |
| In Nigran, near Vigo in Spain, where the Solitaire du Figaro will make a stopover this summer, 160 Formula 18 crews will be
competing in the world championship for the series. A newcomer to the series, the crew of Groupama sum up their ambitions
for this spectacular competition.
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1100 hours on Monday 7th July. According to the sailing instructions, this should be the point where the start of the first
race is given. In the wide bay of Vigo, the organisers have designed two rounds measuring 2 miles in diameter. According to
the wind direction, they'll choose between racing in the north or south. Either way, the fleet will be divided into 2 groups:
"It's not possible to have all 160 catamarans racing together over the same course. As a result we've been split into
two groups of 80 boats. At the end of the first two days of racing and hence with six races under their belts, the first 40
from each group will end up in group A whilst the others will race in group B. Clearly the organisation is very different
from that which we experienced in the ORMA class" says Franck Cammas, smiling. Alongside him, Jérémie Lagarrigue goes
a step further: "It's a little odd but, in contrast to Franck, I'm used to it as it's my fourth Formula 18 world championship".
Champion
of France in the recent spring series, the Groupama duo are anticipating a difficult championship: "The level is very
high. In such a big fleet, it's imperative that we get off to some good starts in order to avoid sailing in the dirty air
of the other competitors. It's these starts that are difficult though as you have to position yourself on the line very early.
You have to be capable of holding onto the same position for 2 minutes" adds Jérémie.
With Franck on the
helm and Jérémie on the sheets, the two men have been training in Nigran since Thursday: "It's a nice race zone which
I am a little familiar with having contested a Grand Prix aboard Groupama 2. We're quite quick, particularly in the light
airs and the boat has been prepared very well" continues the skipper of Groupama. His crewmate adds: "In the
light airs, we are racing at 100% of our potential, which won't necessarily be the case in breezy conditions as the F 18 is
highly technical. It's still a balancing act and Franck hasn't yet got to the stage where all the manoeuvres are second nature
to him".
Nevertheless it would seem as if the weather forecasts are pretty favourable: "There shouldn't
be too much wind but we'll still have to watch out as the thermal breeze could pick up towards the end of the afternoon".
If
this is the case, then it's extremely likely that the more honed crews like Booth and the French sailors Mourniac - Citeau
will be in front. In contrast, if the wind is fairly calm, the Groupama duo could really cause a stir, as proved to be the
case during training.
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