In a statement, the MACIF team gave explanations on the decline in speed Macif. Indeed, a foil and a saffron are missing on board. François Gabart is still fighting for victory, but will he be able to contain Francis Joyon in this final response in a few hours.
While the arrival looms for the first Ultimate, François Gabart currently in the lead, has seen for a few hours his advance melt on Francis Joyon.
It is a mano to mano tremendous which is taking shape while the two Ultimate will no longer start to tour the island to reach Pointe-à-Pitre.
In his statement, the team of François Gabart revealed some problems of François Gabart during this eleventh Route du Rhum.
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Francis Joyon is getting closer
The Macif skipper first faced a jack problem on the third day. Then, in the night of Monday to Tuesday, François Gabart realizes that he does not have his foil on the starboard float: no collateral damage, the foil having not touched the hull or the starboard rudder while falling. The only concern is that the well is not clogged.
Tuesday morning, he hears a crack, along the Spanish coast: he lost his port rudder, which cut short under the saffron helmet. He also has to deal with problems with mainsail battens, which have broken in the hardness of the swell and the harshness of the wind.
Thomas Normand, head of the trimaran technical team MACIF, highlights the strength of character of François Gabart: "The last crumb of doubt about the commitment capacity of François in each race, the slightest hint of let-go can no longer to exist: the difficulty pushes him, stimulates him, takes him to go even further in the effort. He never knelt down, always trusted his weather cell or his technical team. His obsession is to continue to advance, the loss of foil did not cause damage that could have forced abandonment. These worries have inevitably had an impact on the performance of the MACIF trimaran, but he is still fighting for victory. "
The two Ultimate should complete the eleventh edition of the Route du Rhum around 1:15 am French time (20:15 in Guadeloupe).
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An arrival device in Pointe-à-Pitre very restrictive