Team HolcimPRB wins Cape Town In-Port

Cape Town, South Africa (February 24, 2023) – Team HolcimPRB (SUI) led the Cape Town In-Port Race presented by V&A Waterfront from start to finish, winning the second test in The Ocean Race series. The South African sun was blazing down on the race course and the southerly breeze blowing 15-18 knots provided lively racing for the five IMOCA teams.

A three-lap configuration on the rectangular race course would test every team’s boathandling skills on these IMOCA boats, which are not designed for turning tight corners but for going fast in straight lines for hundreds of miles.

While GUYOT Environnement – Team Europe (FRA/GER) timed its start perfectly for a marginal advantage as the gun fired, it was Kevin Escoffier’s crew just to windward who were quickest to pop their blue-green hull up on to the hydrofoils and launch to an immediate and significant lead over GUYOT and the rest of the fleet.

Meanwhile Biotherm (FRA) had got stuck on a race mark even before the start gun was fired. Paul Meilhat’s crew were doing all they could to disentangle the IMOCA’s foil from the mark, while the fleet raced away ahead of them.

Crewman Anthony Marchand jumped off the boat and on to the mark to protect the Biotherm hull and foils from any damage with less than 48 hours to the start of Leg 3. Reluctantly the team was forced to head for the dock, scoring 0 points from the In-Port Race.

“Unfortunately a couple minutes before the start we hit a buoy,” said Paul Meilhat. “We were in the middle of the fleet and the buoy was hidden by the boats in front of us, so we didn’t see it until very late and then (we were boxed in by the other boats). We are lucky because it was a soft buoy where the foil made contact. We need to check but I am confident that the boat will be okay for Sunday – this is the most important thing.”

By mark one of the three-lap square course, Team Holcim PRB had stretched to a lead of a few hundred metres. Further back was a tight battle for second, with 11th Hour Racing Team (USA) outmanoeuvring GUYOT Environnement in a simultaneous gybing duel. Charlie Enright’s American crew moved up into second, with Guyot now looking to defend third place from Team Malizia (GER) hot on their heels.

Team Holcim PRB stretched into a 500-metre-plus lead over 11th Hour Racing Team, who in turn had extended nicely on the boats behind. Team Malizia hooked into a gust that missed GUYOT and to skipper Benjamin Dutreux’s frustration Boris Herrmann’s crew slipped past the European boat and up into third place on the second lap.

After 43 minutes of racing, Escoffier’s crew celebrated an easy victory on board Team Holcim PRB, finishing more than two minutes ahead of Enright who scored a solid second for 11th Hour Racing Team. Team Malizia were third and GUYOT Environnement fourth across the finish line, although still two points up on Biotherm, long since retired from the In-Port Race.

“We’re very happy,” said skipper Kevin Escoffier of Team Holcim PRB. “We had a very good start, and we raced fast, doing safe manoeuvres, going straight and with speed. It was very shifty with Table Mountain behind us but now we can enjoy the view.”

Now the teams have less than 48 hours to make sure their minds, bodies and boats are fully prepared for the start of Leg 3 and 12,750 nautical miles of adventure through the Southern Ocean to Itajaí in Brazil.

Results and points – Cape Town In-Port Race presented by V+A Waterfront
1. Team Holcim PRB (SUI), 5 points
2. 11th Hour Racing Team (USA), 4 points
3. Team Malizia (GER), 3 points
4. GUYOT Environnement – Team Europe (FRA/GER), 2 points
5. Biotherm (FRA), 0 points

Race details – Route – Tracker – Teams – Content from the boats – YouTube

IMOCA: Boat, Design, Skipper, Launch date
• Guyot Environnement – Team Europe (VPLP Verdier); Benjamin Dutreux (FRA)/Robert Stanjek (GER); September 1, 2015
• 11th Hour Racing Team (Guillaume Verdier); Charlie Enright (USA); August 24, 2021
• Holcim-PRB (Guillaume Verdier); Kevin Escoffier (FRA); May 8, 2022
• Team Malizia (VPLP); Boris Herrmann (GER); July 19, 2022
• Biotherm (Guillaume Verdier); Paul Meilhat (FRA); August 31 2022

The Ocean Race 2022-23 Race Schedule:
Alicante, Spain – Leg 1 (1900 nm) start: January 15, 2023
Cabo Verde – ETA: January 22; Leg 2 (4600 nm) start: January 25
Cape Town, South Africa – ETA: February 9; Leg 3 (12750 nm) start: February 26
Itajaí, Brazil – ETA: April 1; Leg 4 (5500 nm) start: April 23
Newport, RI, USA – ETA: May 10; Leg 5 (3500 nm) start: May 21
Aarhus, Denmark – ETA: May 30; Leg 6 (800 nm) start: June 8
Kiel, Germany (Fly-By) – June 9
The Hague, The Netherlands – ETA: June 11; Leg 7 (2200 nm) start: June 15
Genova, Italy – The Grand Finale – ETA: June 25, 2023; Final In-Port Race: July 1, 2023

The Ocean Race (formerly Volvo Ocean Race and Whitbread Round the World Race) was initially to be raced in two classes of boats: the high-performance, foiling, IMOCA 60 class and the one-design VO65 class which has been used for the last two editions of the race.

However, only the IMOCAs will be racing round the world while the VO65s will race in The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint which competes in Legs 1, 6, and 7 of The Ocean Race course.

Additionally, The Ocean Race also features the In-Port Series with races at seven of the course’s stopover cities around the world which allow local fans to get up close and personal to the teams as they battle it out around a short inshore course.

Although in-port races do not count towards a team’s overall points score, they do play an important part in the overall rankings as the In-Port Race Series standings are used to break any points ties that occur during the race around the world.

The 14th edition of The Ocean Race was originally planned for 2021-22 but was postponed one year due to the pandemic, with the first leg starting on January 15, 2023.