From Thursday 11 to Sunday 14 May, ten teams (three Swiss, one American, one Japanese, one Monegasque, one Argentinian, one from Bermuda and two French) will open the 2017 GC32 Racing Tour season on Lake Garda in Riva, Italy. Sébastien Rogues and his loyal team: Gurvan Bontemps, Jean Baptiste Gellée, Antoine Joubert and Benjamin Amiot, are all eager to get back on board. “We are really looking forward to the competition. Our upcoming season on this racing circuit starts in a few days but we’ve already had the incredible opportunity to sail with our ENGIE boat at two events in Oman this February and March for the GC32 Championship and Act 1 of the Extreme Sailing Series. We sailed a great deal and I must say that we could never have done this with the conditions we have in France over the winter period. Sailing a total of 43 races against the elite of the discipline and the best helmsmen in the world has provided us with a real advantage and an incredible source of learning. Thanks to all the hours we’ve spent on the water, I’m certain we’ve ramped up our level. We have a clear objective for 2017, we are aiming to finish on the overall podium with hopefully some great victories in the various events,” confided the skipper from La Baule.

With a consolidated sailing crew and efficient and meticulous onshore team, Team ENGIE will be the only professional French crew on the GC32 Racing Tour this year : “It has been confirmed that we will be the only French representatives. I am not putting any pressure on myself, but it would be fantastic to represent ENGIE and France with flying colours. Returning to the team, everyone has worked very hard, either on his or her own or on the boat, which only came back from Oman 10 days ago. There is real group cohesion and even ashore, Julien Grancher has done an extraordinary job to provide us with the best possible platform for racing and getting good results,” stated Sébastien Rogues.

Team ENGIE will have to demonstrate clear thinking in the first few races, because on this circuit the only way to reach the podium is through consistency at the highest level. With a fifth place finish in 2016, 7 points short of the podium and valuable experience gained, Team ENGIE now has the cards in hand to make this new edition their year. This is their chance!

2017 CALENDAR

GC32 Racing Tour

GC32 RIVA Cup: Lake Garda (Italy), Thursday 11 May – Sunday 14 May
GC32 Villasimius Cup: Villasimius, Sardinia (Italy), Wednesday 28 June – Saturday 1 July
36 Copa del Rey Mapfre: Palma de Mallorca, Balearics (Spain), Wednesday 2 Aug. – Saturday 5 Aug.
GC32 Orezza Corsica Cup: Calvi, Corsica (France), Wednesday 13 Sept. – Saturday 16 Sept.
Marseille One Design: Marseille (France), Thursday 12 Oct. – Sunday 15 Oct.
Main image: GC32 Championship Oman 2017 (© Jesus Renedo).