The French team of Jean-Pierre Dick and his loyal partners, Paprec and Virbac, is finally going to take up the chance to helm the new one-design trimaran yacht MOD70. The two international teams, Oman Sail and Spindrift racing will not take part in the Multi One Championship as they were supposed to according to August´s announcement. The total number of the Multi One Championship international teams thus comes to seven.
In addition to fleshing out the number of entries, this latest commitment from the trimaran novice, who is both a vet and a skipper, is all the more remarkable in that it completes the line-up for the French market. Indeed the class rules state that the maximum number of trimaran yachts MOD70 per nation is restricted to four crafts and with Paprec-Virbac 70, the French quota has now been reached.
Marco Simeoni, President of Multi One Design Ltd.: “The signing of this seventh MOD70 in the colours of Paprec Virbac is another step in the construction of our circuit. The fact that Jean-Pierre Dick and his partners, fully geared towards the monohull up till now, are launching into the MOD70 adventure, is a delight to us. We knew that Jean Pierre is a man who enjoys a challenge. Some ten years ago he’d never sailed a 60 foot monohull single-handed. Today, he’s accepting the challenge to come and do battle on a one-design trimaran. As such I wish the whole Paprec-Virbac team the best of luck and thank them for their trust in us.”
Jean-Pierre Dick, skipper of the trimaran yacht MOD70 Paprec-Virbac 70: “It annoyed me being overtaken by the albatrosses in the Deep South so I’ve now decided to overtake them! I’m going to be taking things to a new level by flying across the water. I’m fascinated by speed at sea. Like me, my sponsors Paprec and Virbac, enjoy new challenges. We’re driven by a taste for adventure and enterprise. The trimaran yacht MOD70 project is international and that is in line with the way my two major sponsors are evolving. On a competitive level, I’m returning to the crewed sailing I enjoy, as well as discovering a new craft, meeting new people and sailing some new courses. It’s a really exciting opportunity!”
A native of Nice, Jean-Pierre Dick will take the helm of his trimaran MOD70 in the spring of 2013 following the next Vendée Globe. In order to ensure the presence of a variety of nationalities in the Multi One Championship and create a truly international class, the circuit’s organisers have decreed a restricted intake.
“We are keen to develop an international circuit so from the outset of the Multi One Design project, we’ve been implementing a class rule stating that there can be no more than four trimarans MOD70 per nation. With Veolia Environnement, Foncia, Edmond de Rothschild Group and now Paprec-Virbac 70, the maximum number of one-design trimarans displaying the French flag has been reached. This isn’t surprising from a country which has been a trail-blazer in terms of oceanic multihulls. This French fervour has now been adopted by several international projects, which will shortly be fleshing out the ranks of the MOD70 fleet,” explains Marco Simeoni.
