From the ORMA Championship to the Multi Cup Café Ambassador
In the ten years since the ORMA Multihull Championship was founded back in 1996, the circuit has gained recognition worldwide and now features among the most spectacular of all sailing events. Five trimarans will be taking part in the 2006 run of the Multi Cup Café Ambassador a new annual championship format. Racing on the circuit is run crewed and comprises one ocean race (Londres-Alpes Maritimes) in which a 6th boat has been invited to take part - Sopra Group, and five Grand Prix.
At the end of the 1980's, multihulls exceeding 22 metres (72 ft) in length were too expensive and the 60 ft trimarans were having a tough time gaining the confidence of amateurs, for lack of a coherent programme. The Route du Rhum was still the leading race on the calendar when it came to attracting the attention of the general public, the media and sponsors every 4 years. Even Florence Arthaud's win in 1990 did little to help this class of yacht take off, in spite of its being so spectacular. It was not until Philippe Facque created the ORMA Multihull Championship with the support of the Fédération Française de Voile that the line up started to take shape. In 1996, five trimarans raced the three day long Grands Prix events, comprising nine coastal courses close to land but also including ocean races. The thinking behind it was to offer a mixture of visually spectacular and technically arduous regattas with ocean races, the idea being to avoid confining the multihulls to a closed course. It was an immediate success : Loïck Peyron, Laurent Bourgnon, Francis Joyon, Paul Vatine and Mike Birch pioneered the new circuit.
A facelift with the accent on crewed racing
In 1998, the Championship took on a new dimension. Three new multihulls joined the circuit helmed by Alain Gautier (Brocéliande), Marc Guillemot (La Trinitaine) and Franck Cammas (Groupama). The year 2000 marked a new leap forward with the building of a new trimaran : Bonduelle, renamed Gitana 12. Four years later, in 2002, the evolution was in full swing and had become increasingly international with the construction of new multihulls : Belgacom (by now Gitana 11), Gitana X, Sergio Tacchini, Banque Populaire 3, Fujifilm, Foncia, Géant, Sodebo, Sopra Group, TIM, Bayer (renamed Banque Populaire 4)… and last year the new Groupama 2 ! More than forty sailors will be swelling the ranks of the Multi Cup 60' on the Grands Prix in 2006… The circuit is heading in a new direction, with a fleet which is becoming more and more homogenous in terms of performance, making it increasingly attractive to foreign skippers in the years ahead. The new format is devoted to crewed racing only, a discipline which Anglo-Saxon racing yachtsmen are particularly attached to.
The calendar of the public focused competition leaves room for the big two-handed and solo races.
Finally, the organisation has been restructured, clarifying its governance with the ORMA, a key point attracting and holding onto class members.
09.09.2006 - MULTI CUP 60' : PROGRAMME 2007
18.05.2006 - Gitana 12 dismasted
15.05.2006 - Groupama 2 first into Nice
08.05.2006 - start of London-Alpes Maritimes race
03.04.2006 - London-Nice,Trapani,Marseille,Fécamp
31.01.2006 - 6 events,4 countries,3 new venues
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"Photo Gilles Martin-Raget"
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