Paprec's Jean-Luc Petithuguenin finally has the regatta win he has been chasing for 17 years, the French crew holding their nerve through two breezy final races to claim the Marina Rubicón Lanzarote 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week by two points from Andrea Lacorte's Italian outfit Alkedo Vitamina.
It is the French team's first ever regatta victory on the circuit, and it came the hard way. Paprec sat third overall going into the seventh and final race, a single point behind both Sled and Alkedo. Both rivals faltered: Sled picked up a penalty that dropped them to 12th, and Alkedo jumped the gun and could only fight back to fifth. Paprec crossed in second to seal the win on 24 points, with Sled finishing tenth on the day and slipping to third overall on 31.
The victory carries extra weight given what happened in Cascais last July, when Paprec came within one point of winning the Rolex TP52 World Championship in similarly strong winds before losing out to American Magic Quantum Racing.
"I have been waiting for the last 17 years to win at the end of a TP52 regatta and I am so happy," said a beaming Petithuguenin. "You know I started with nothing. I start with my family 30 years ago at my first regatta with Stephane Névé in Brest. And so for me it's something, incredible for me, a small French team from Brittany, French Brittany, we were able to win against all these stars, all these guys, the very best level in the world of sailing. It's so amazing. And you know that it's going to cost me a lot because I promise to have container of champagne when I come back to Lanzarote there will be champagne for everyone!"
The squad has Loick Peyron calling tactics and Vendée Globe runner-up Yoann Richomme navigating for his first time with the team. Project manager and mainsheet trimmer Stephane Névé, who sailed with Petithuguenin at that very first regatta three decades ago in Brest, was visibly emotional after the finish. "It was too much emotion for me after we passed the finish line. I mean, just thinking that our first race in the TP52 was in 2009 and we have been waiting 17 years for this win, so it was really crazy for us today."
Névé paid tribute to those no longer with the programme, including kite trimmer Olivier Camebourg, who died suddenly in 2024. "I'm feeling all of this today right now. Thank you to them too."
He was candid about the racing itself. The boat lost its helm during the final race, and he acknowledged that Sled's two penalties and Alkedo's premature start played into Paprec's hands. "What we did today was not 100% perfect. But I mean, that's the way it is sometimes. Missing out in Cascais was really motivating, knowing we could do it."
Lacorte was upbeat about Alkedo's second place, their second podium on the circuit. "The boat is fast, the crew is fantastic and we are pushing hard, very hard. We got penalised in the last race because we already had the taste of victory in our mouths, but being second overall and first owner-driver is a great success, a great satisfaction in this the pinnacle of sailing."
For Sled, the day was a sharp reminder that leads can erode quickly. Francesco Bruni was blunt: "It was a very disappointing day for us. We made mistakes. The fleet was very close and we made a couple of errors on boat on boat situations and that cost us the day and the overall." Sled still lead the season standings on 120 points, but their advantage has narrowed from 30 points to 17 over second-placed Platoon Aviation. The fleet heads to Marina Puerto Calero next month for round four.
