Défi Azimut Speed Runs: Sam Goodchild on Macif Santé Prévoyance clocks 32.1 knot average speed

Défi Azimut Speed Runs: Sam Goodchild on Macif Santé Prévoyance clocks 32.1 knot average speed © Défi AZIMUT / Jean-Marie Liot

After a gentle start to the racing against the clock due to very light conditions, the pace picked up a good hour into the competition. Indeed, in line with the forecasts, as the fleet of 17 IMOCAs gathered together for the Runs Azimut close to Lorient, the wind gradually filled in offshore of the island of Groix, where the battle for the fastest time was in full swing.

After 80 cumulative attempts, today's honours went to Sam Goodchild who, in a repeat of his performance last year, produced another win in the first act of the Défi Azimut aboard Macif Santé Prévoyance. Better still: the 'Franco-British' skipper also treated himself to the luxury of beating the record time set in 2023 by Jérémie Beyou aboard Charal in what were ideal wind and sea conditions for really getting the best out of these constantly evolving jewels of technology.

Bang on 3:00 pm, after the first round of attempts against the clock, which favoured the six daggerboard boats and enabled them to hold their own against the foilers, the gusts accompanying the arrival of the thermal breeze completely changed the tone. Those IMOCAs equipped with appendages geared up for flying across the water began to take off, resulting in some impressive acceleration that appeared effortless. Just a sniff of extra breeze created a truly eyepopping spectacle as they transformed into rocket ships, their bows smoking.

Raising your game and putting on a show, the magic potion for the speed runs

With 14 to 18 knots of breeze, the first boats to hydroplane put on quite the show. With newcomers like Groupe Dubreuil-Air Caraïbes (Sébastien Simon), fresh out of the box this summer, and Charal, Jérémie Beyou's boat equipped with a new bow section after a giant refit, the crewed sprints were the perfect opportunity to work on the trim to gain stability during flight. Everyone willingly played the game, offering their guests the craziest of rides. Throughout this festival of runs, Corentin Horeau, who has taken over the helm of Yoann Richomme's old boat and sports the colours of MACSF, it was a fabulous introduction to proceedings.

Défi Azimut Speed Runs: Sébastien Simon on Groupe Dubreuil-Air Caraïbes - photo © Défi AZIMUT / Jean-Marie Liot

Making no fewer than seven attempts today, the winner of the Solitaire du Figaro 2023, who is approaching this Défi Azimut with the humility of someone who is just beginning a long apprenticeship, he has already proven that he is a force to be reckoned with on the circuit. Astern of him, it is a close-fought match, as evidenced by the three boats tied on points in seventh place: Initiatives Coeur (Violette Dorange), Association Petits Princes-Quéguiner (Elodie Bonafous) and Les P'tits doudous (Armel Tripon) were impossible to separate with an average speed of 25 knots apiece. Clearly it all bodes well for the future!

Quotes from the boats:

Sam Goodchild (Macif Santé Prévoyance), Record time
"I don't know if there's a winning recipe, but the boat is fantastic, the team is fantastic, so it's a great recipe. I can honestly say that I'm absolutely thrilled to have won the runs again and I'm very proud of this team, which has worked wonders. If you were to order the perfect day for speed runs, this would be it. Breeze and a fairly slight sea state, it was ideal. We're happy essentially. We've posted the fastest run in the history of the Azimut, which is great."

Défi Azimut Speed Runs: Sam Goodchild on Macif Santé Prévoyance clocks 32.1 knot average speed - photo © Défi AZIMUT / Jean-Marie Liot

Corentin Horeau (MACSF), 3rd fastest time
"I said this morning that it would come down to the final run and we waited till the last moment to go for it. We trimmed the boat well and the timing was good. We were making over 30 knots the whole time but at the end of the run, we had to do a big bear away to avoid a RIB and that made us drop down to 29.8, but that's nothing too serious. We'll always take a spot on the podium. The team really worked up a sweat and we had to shout quite a bit because it's very noisy at these speeds, but the atmosphere was great and everyone's happy."

Élodie Bonafous (Association Petits Princes - Quéguiner), tied in seventh place
"It was incredible. We went through the whole range of sensations. The partners were very pleased and there's certainly some new IMOCA fans tonight! It all went so fast. We'd have loved to have kept going for hours and taken the time to study the trim and do even better. I think the peak speeds posted by our rivals are very challenging. MACIF is the best at that, I think. They're a good target to set our sights on!"

Overall Results: (time to cover one nautical mile)