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La Grande Motte Sailing Stadium was brought to life by eight champions who had a hard battle to follow Franck Cammas in the ranking of the Trophée Clairefontaine. This evening, Franck Cammas took of the leading position in the temporary overall ranking of the 21st Trophée Clairefontaine des Champions de Voile, ahead of Loïck Peyron and Pascal Bidégorry. Five legs were raced in the Sailing Stadium, two of which were coastal Open Races and three Runs, under a wavering wind between force 2 and 3. The race is still open, since five champions out of eight can still hope for a win at the end. The title of "Champion of Champions" will therefore be fought for during the four Runs programmed between 14:30 and 16:00 tomorrow.
The first Open Race of the Trophée Clairefontaine was first dominated by Michel Desjoyeaux. Then Franck Cammas became increasingly insistent. He took advantage of a section of the course obstructed by weekend fishing boats, near a course marker, to make his attack which hit home. Once in the lead, Franck Cammas forged ahead and completed the first Open Race of the day as winner on the finish line located in the harbour of La Grande Motte.
The wind was stronger in the early afternoon for the second Open Race. Pascal Bidégorry got away towards the open sea in leading position, followed by the Swiss Team Alinghi crew, with Luc Dubois at the helm. In the long run towards the marker in front of Port Camargue, Luc Dubois accelerated taking the lead. Loïck Peyron was also lying in ambush and in turn overtake Pascal Bidégorry. The positions remained unchanged, while at the back of the pack Franck Cammas battled to avoid losing too many points in what looked to be a counter-performance for the title holder. He hung onto his place by finishing in fifth position. Loïck Peyron became the leader of the temporary ranking.
The Runs started as the wind began to fall, which enabled Loïck Peyron to come back with a fine victory and establish his domination. Franck Cammas attacked the fourth regatta with an obvious desire to set the record straight - HIS record, to be precise. He was dominating the leg and Pascal Bidégorry orchestrated a duel with Loïck Peyron by sailing between the two champions, in second place in the fourth regatta of the day.
So Loïck Peyron and Franck Cammas began the fifth leg with equal points, still on a RUN course in the Sailing Stadium lined with a dense crowd. The suspense was perfect. During the first half of the course, Loïck Peyron managed to get between the stern of a contender and the bow of Franck Cammas. However on rounding a marker, when the eight champions were grouped together, Franck Cammas got away into the lead. He won a third victory in five legs and took the leading position.
Provisional general raking after five legs: 1- Franck Cammas (1,5,2,1,1), 42 pts ; 2- Loïck Peyron (3,2,1,2,3), 38 pts ; 3- Pascal Bidégorry (6,3,3,4,2), 28 pts ; 4- Luc Dubois - Team Alinghi (CH) (4,1,4,6,4), 28 pts ; 5- Michel Desjoyeaux (2,4,5,8,5), 22 pts ; 6- Nicolas Charbonnier (5,6,7,3,DSQ), 14 pts ; 7- Armel Le Cléac'h (7,7,6,5,7), 13 pts ; 8- Serge Madec (8,8,8,7,6), 8 pts.
Media relations: Sophie Grimaud / 06 15 04 77 87 / sophiegrimaud@voila.fr
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