26th June 2014
Dongfeng Race Team Press Release
http://www.dongfengraceteam.cn/
CHINA ARRIVES IN PROFESSIONAL SAILING!
NEW CHINESE SPONSORS, AND FINAL DONGFENG RACE TEAM CREW ANNOUNCED
In brief:
- Dongfeng confirm full race team for the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 that combines sailors from France, China and Sweden.
- Two new Platinum Partners – China’s Aeolus Tyres and the city of Shiyan, Dongfeng’s home city, join forces with the team’s title Partner Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles, China’s leading truck manufacturer, racing for China in the Volvo Ocean Race.
- Twenty Chinese candidates were chosen for the tough Selection Trials in December in the hope of joining the team… Today four of those rookie offshore Chinese sailors have been confirmed as part of Dongfeng Race Team’s final race crew – Jin Hao Chen (Horace), Jiru Yang (Wolf), Ying Kit Cheng (Kit) and Liu Ming (Leo).
- At the same time, five professional offshore Western sailors have been hand-picked by Caudrelier for the mission ahead – Martin Stromberg of Sweden, French sailors Pascal Bidegorry, Thomas Rouxell, Kevin Escoffier and Eric Peron
In detail:
Dongfeng, Racing for China in the Volvo Ocean Race
It has been eight months since Dongfeng Race Team began their selection process to find Chinese sailors capable of taking on the Volvo Ocean Race, the world’s toughest fully-crewed round the world race. Dongfeng Race Team’s much-awaited announcement follows one of the most difficult selection trials in the history of the race. Today the full team, that combines sailors from France, China and Sweden, has been announced at the team’s official press conference in Lorient, France.
Just as the race against time to select the Chinese sailors draws to a conclusion, another race against time is also coming to fruition – to find the supporting partners to complete the core campaign budget. Two new Platinum Partners join the team today supporting title Partner Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles – China’s Aeolus Tyres, a global top 20 premium tyre manufacturer, and the city of Shiyan, Dongfeng’s home city and with its Wudang Mountains, the spiritual home of Kung Fu.
More than just business partners
title Partner Dongfeng Commercial Vehicle Company Limited (DFCV) is a Chinese automobile company who specialise in medium and heavy-duty trucks. DFCV is one of the largest, most reputable and diverse companies of its kind in China who announced their sponsorship of a Volvo Ocean Race team at the end of October 2013 with the intention of using it to expand their global marketing strategy – ‘Chinese Dongfeng, Global Dongfeng’.
Today, Aeolus Tyre Company Limited and the City of Shiyan were announced as Platinum Partners to Dongfeng Race Team. Both Chinese companies have strong business and historical links with DFCV. Aeolus Tyres is a major supplier to DFCV, specialising in heavy-duty tyres, and the products of Aeolus Tyres are sold all over China and exported to more than 140 countries and regions around the world. “As a strategic partner of Dongfeng Commercial Vehicle Company Limited, we are pleased to team up with DFCV again and support Dongfeng Race Team in this top sailing event – the Volvo Ocean Race!” said Aeolus CEO, Mr. Wang, “Aeolus means ‘Guardian of wind’ taken from a Greek mythical tale, managing the speed and the direction of the wind; whilst Dongfeng means ‘east wind’ in Chinese. I believe that with Aeolus guarding Dongfeng Race Team, together with the hard work the team is doing, we will achieve a good result at the end of the race.”
The second Platinum Partner is the City of Shiyan in Hubei Province – the ‘spiritual’ home of Dongfeng, and the location of DFCV’s headquarters. Situated close to the famous Wudang Mountains, a national 4-A level tourist attraction and a sacred place of Taoism, which attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists every year. Since 1967 Shiyan has developed into one of the most important centres of the automobile industry in China, labeled as the ‘Detroit’ of China. “As the official ‘birth place’ of DFCV, Shiyan has a long history in cooperating with Dongfeng Motor Group, we support each other and seek common development. The Volvo Ocean Race is one of the most influential professional sailing events in the world and the City of Shiyan will take this opportunity of becoming a Platinum Partner of Dongfeng Race Team to incorporate Shiyan elements into the race. We intend to raise global awareness of Shiyan – a city linked to the famous Wudang mountain. We seek to expand our overseas tourism market, and to achieve our goal of becoming an international tourism destination.”
These three companies are not only closely linked but have now collectively taken their first steps into international sports sponsorship, through sailing as part of their global marketing strategies. Qin Jie, Vice President of DFCV commented: “Today we join hands with Dongfeng Race Team to achieve our dreams of ‘going global’. Dongfeng Trucks share the same values with the race and the Dongfeng Race Team that are trustworthiness, professionalism and advancements in technology. It’s a win-win choice for Dongfeng Trucks global ambitions and growing awareness of the Volvo Ocean Race in China.”
Meet the team who dare to dream
Twenty candidates were chosen for the tough Selection Trials in December at the team’s official training camp at Serenity Marina, Sanya in China; six were chosen by Dongfeng’s skipper, Charles Caudrelier, to embark on the offshore training programme three months later on board the Volvo Ocean 65 Dongfeng to fully test the Chinese sailors offshore abilities which, at the time, were practically non-existent. Today four of those rookie offshore Chinese sailors have been confirmed as part of Dongfeng Race Team’s final race crew. At the same time, five professional offshore Western sailors have been handpicked by Caudrelier for the mission ahead – to form a team united by the goal of putting forward a competitive entry in the Volvo Ocean Race that starts on the 11th October, 2014 from Alicante in Spain.
As Charles Caudrelier stood proudly on stage with his final race crew, there was an underlying sense of achievement in the air. The Dongfeng Race Team campaign was created with the ambition of developing competitive offshore sailing talent in China, and today was the first major step towards this. Dongfeng Race Team has the interests of Chinese sailing at its core with a significant number of Chinese in both the sailing and support team so that future editions of the Volvo Ocean Race could one day witness a fully Chinese entry.
China has an outstanding maritime history that remains relatively unknown, even in China, that dates back to the 15th century, when between 1421-1423 the fleets of Admiral Zheng He ‘discovered the world’. In more recent times, Chinese dinghy sailors have excelled at the Olympics, and a growing base of Chinese sailors regularly compete in inshore regattas, but few have made the transition to offshore competitive sailing. Guo Chuan and Teng Jiang He (Tiger) were the ‘token’ Chinese onboard Green Dragon (2008) and Team Sanya (2011) respectively. Finding sailors with the aptitude and strength of mind and body to take on the mental and physical challenge of the Volvo Ocean Race has not been easy. A major recruitment campaign was launched to find the best sailors China had to offer. Dongfeng Race Team was flooded with applications from Olympians to local fisherman, but only those who stood out to the selection panel were chosen to attend the gruelling selection process. “We had an encouraging start that exceeded our expectations,” recalls Team Director, Bruno Dubois. “But we knew there were not many offshore sailors in China and that our training process would have to be rigorous and intense. We were searching for candidates who could take on the challenges that the race will throw at them and I’m proud that after a six-month process and 10,000 miles of offshore training, we now have a great team here today. We have lost some of our best hopes along the way too – the challenge and hardships of ocean racing not suiting everyone of course.”
Chinese sailors Jin Hao Chen (Horace), Jiru Yang (Wolf), Ying Kit Cheng (Kit) and Liu Ming (Leo) were the final four sailors chosen by Caudrelier to become part of the race crew to represent China. “I feel like everything is falling into place,” said Wolf. “This is my dream and this is the proudest day of my life. Before Dongfeng Race Team I didn’t feel like my life had direction, but now it does. I know who I am and where I’m going. I’m going to represent my country in the Volvo Ocean Race.”
How did Caudrelier identify these Chinese sailors: “At first we picked the best sailors, then we realised that attitude was one of the most important attributes. Horace, Leo, Kit and Wolf had by far the best attitudes and were the most motivated,” commented Charles.
“Leo is physically the best, he can move around the boat at ease and has one of the most competitive streaks I’ve ever seen. He always wants to be first, even if we’re running he pushes to be in front of the others. He is quiet guy with the right attitude – his biggest challenge ahead is his lack of English. [Note: English is the language on board the international crew use to communicate]
“Wolf’s progression since the start of the campaign has been the most impressive. He has benefitted from being around the professional offshore sailors as he’s a very intelligent guy and learns quickly. His confidence has grown immensely and I know he wants this. He’s fighting for it.
“Kit is the most experienced of our Chinese sailors. He’s technically competent and very smart. Like Wolf his English is excellent. Everyone likes Kit and it’s a pleasure to have him onboard. Something key about Wolf and Kit is their English is by far the best but they haven’t kept things to themselves when they could have done to get ahead. They’re great team players and that is another reason they’re in the final team.
“Horace is the youngest and has the most potential. He can sometimes be a little over confident, but he’s learning and I like that. He has great ambitions and only looks forward. He understands the importance of winning and always wants to better himself.”
This quietly determined and competitive French skipper has also carefully chosen a selection of world-class professional offshore sailors that will be the backbone of Dongfeng Race Team.
His first choice was instinctively Martin Stromberg, his Swedish teammate onboard Groupama, with whom he won the last edition of the Volvo Ocean Race under the direction of famous French skipper Franck Cammas. Now it is Charles turn to step into the spotlight and Martin will be by his side. Martin is thought to be the ‘glue’ in this multicultural team and is described by his teammates as running like a diesel engine. He is strong, reliable and built for long distances. “Martin has the patience to teach and is one of the most skilled pitmen I know. I was looking for people who understood the overall ambition of the project and could contribute to the team in a selfless way. Martin was my first choice.”
French sailor Thomas Rouxell was next on Caudrelier’s list. Their friendship developed during a solo transatlantic race when Thomas (who was racing against Charles at the time) separated from the fleet and was left isolated in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. He quickly spotted the more experienced Caudrelier pass him and followed him to the finish line only to overtake him in the final moments of the race! Charles describes Rouxell as talented, loyal and an intrinsic member of his team.
The legendary Pascal Bidegorry will be joining Charles as his right-hand man and navigator onboard. A genuine seaman in every sense of the word, Bidégorry is considered by his peers to be one of the most talented sailors of his generation. Having sailed across the Atlantic thirty times it was not a difficult choice for Charles. “Pascal is someone who will share his experience and continually progress in order to win. I believe people were born to do certain things with their lives, and Pascal was born to sail. When he’s onboard, the boat goes fast – it’s a fact.”
All-rounder Kevin Escoffier was the fourth addition to the team. “Kevin has a very good reputation and has sailed with Pascal on multiple occasions. He is an excellent technician, tactician and sailor, he knows and understands these boats and his personality gels well with the rest of the crew.”
The final and most recent addition to the crew is young French sailor Eric Peron. Although originally looking for an Anglo-Saxon, Eric brings professionalism and an impressive count of nautical miles to the team. “He has a way of making people feel comfortable in his presence and can always put people in a good mood, and this is absolutely key to every team,” said Caudrelier. “Eric is an excellent sailor and a brilliant driver. This will be our first professional collaboration and Eric’s first Volvo Ocean Race and I look forward to having him on the team.”
Dongfeng Final Race Crew:
Charles Caudrelier, Skipper (FRA)
Pascal Bidegorry, Navigator (FRA)
Liu Ming (Leo), Trimmer (CHN)
Thomas Rouxel, Trimmer (FRA)
Martin Stromberg, Pit & Trimmer (SWE)
Jiru Yang (Wolf), Pit (CHN)
Kevin Escoffier, Bowman (FRA)
Jin Hao Chen (Horace), Bowman (CHN)
Eric Peron, Trimmer (FRA)
Cheng Ying Kit (Kit), Trimmer (CHN)
Onboard Reporter (TBC)
Team Director: Bruno Dubois
[Note: a total of 8 crew will race Dongfeng in the Volvo Ocean Race in addition to the Onboard Reporter. The skipper, Charles Caudrelier, will choose the 7 crew for each leg of the race from the 9 sailors above based on their skill set and the expertise required for each leg. The crew for the first leg from Alicante, Spain to Cape Town, South Africa, will be announced early September 2014, and the final crew for each leg thereafter, confirmed before each of the legs.]
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