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With five IMOCAs racing round the world in the 14th edition of The Ocean Race, the oldest boat on the 7-leg course will have been launched in 2015… a lifetime ago in this fast moving development class.
But Robert Stanjek’s joint campaign with Benjamin Dutreux took a big step forward when the team won the IMOCA class in The Ocean Race Europe 2021. Racing a boat that was not only older, but significantly less advanced than others in the class, was a reminder that you don’t always need the latest and newest machine to win.
Certainly, their success was helped by the light conditions that favored the older style daggerboard configuration and a hull shape that was more suited to such weather.
Today, their campaign sees the team in a different boat, one that is the oldest in the five boat fleet. Nevertheless, few see this as anything other than another serious and competitive campaign. And when the German former Olympic sailor describes his thinking around a project that he freely admits is new to him, it’s easy to see why his competitors are taking GUYOT environnement – Team Europe seriously…
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