MOD70 - the future

MOD to go through a transitional 2013 as it plans for the future

The first season of the MOD70 circuit was a success, demonstrating the potential of the offshore one design trimarans to create high performance competitive racing in their race eastbound across the Atlantic from New York to Brest, the Krys Ocean Race and then the MOD70 European Tour, coasthopping anti-clockwise around the European coastline between Kiel and Genoa. Over 850,000 visited the race villages during these two events.

Since the launch of the first MOD70 Race for Water in March 2011, the system has generated about 24 million euros in terms of international media coverage.

However in the absence of a title sponsor, the MOD class and team owners have decided upon a 2013 season consists solely of multi-class races. So the major events this year will be another European Tour with the Route des Princes in June and then the doublehanded Transat Jacques Vabre from Le Havre to Itajai, Brazil starting on 3 November.

This season the fleet is expanding with the launch recently of Jean-Pierre Dick's latest Virbac Paprec, the sixth MOD70 to be launched, while hull no2, formerly Roland Jourdain's Veolia Environnement has a new American owner and has been rechristened Orion Racing, however her program looks set to be US-based.

The objective of the MOD class is now to work on a circuit over 2014 to 2016 including the second running of the Krys Ocean Race.

See our interview with the Oman Sail MOD70 skipper Sidney Gavignet here