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Day 94 Highlights of winners’ press conference Virbac-Paprec 3 (Jean-Pierre Dick and Loick Peyron)
You won this race in the
Saint Helena High when you went west?
Jean-Pierre Dick:
“No, we have won the race over many legs. It’s true that after
stopping at Recife we took a good option but I think that we held
the power after Recife, we had to think that we were leading the
race. This first option to go towards the west was evident for
myself and Loïck, and we had to stop at Recife so we were towards
the west and I think the big success was to repair the boat very
quickly. We were lucky because when we have to repair the main sheet
track sometimes you can find this very difficult and we made the
repairs very quickly. MAPFRE also had a technical problem and this
was an advantage for us. I think for us there were two main
important moments in the race, or maybe not just those two but many
important moments during the race.”
You look fresh, are you
not tired?
Loïck Peyron:‘Generally
speaking if you don’t look tired that means that you haven’t won the
race! Think about someone winning the marathon – the first that wins
is tired, but the last one to finish is even more tired
I think that the important
thing here is to measure your effort – everything you do must be
very calculated. At the beginning I had some problems physically
speaking, but it was perfectly ok towards the end. I think it’s very
important to take into account our health, but it’s something we’ve
done properly – we were able to sleep properly despite the fact that
we had to be on permanent alert concerning the boat.”
Jean-Pierre Dick:
“I think our level of tiredness is something we’ll feel in
future days because now our goal was to win and this was our driving
engine, and I think we’ve managed the sleep side of things very
well. Loïck is a large character and we’ve tried to get a balance,
which has worked fine between us. It is a key issue because we’ve
been in good shape. With Foncia we were competing with them and we
managed it well. Experience is something that counts for a lot.”
Differences between
2007-8 Race and this edition? :
Jean-Pierre Dick:
“The race is larger at all levels. At a sporting level, this
time we had 14 different boats, it was a very international
competition and that was something very attractive for me. The
Spanish teams, which were very good, excelled. Probably they are
going to be second, third and fourth and that’s fantastic because
they have reached a very good level in a very short period of time.
We have MAPFRE as a team be very serious competitors, it’s been a
great addition to the first race. Among our friends and sponsors,
particularly in France, this race is very popular and the media have
really focused on this second edition which will become part of
maritime history.”
“The second edition was
larger and more important because there were people like Kito de
Pavant and others taking part in the race, and that meant that the
race and a greater influence in France or Great Britain and other
countries.”
Loick on JP as skipper
with most IMOCA 60 miles of recent years, and where does winning put
him in the ranks of round the world skippers?
“He is the sailor who has
probably sailed the most miles on an IMOCA in the last 10 years,
tens of thousands of miles, a lot more than other sailors and that
counts for a lot. His speciality, his strength is he is so
tenacious. It is interesting, we are not exactly twins but we are
very complementary.”
Have you fought during
the three months, shouted at each other?
Loïck Peyron:“Well
maybe a little bit, but not so much. Sometimes we shouted at each
other but then we realized that we have done something wrong. But I
think that first we think that it’s our fault, and I think we shout
at each other when we’ve done something wrong. And sometimes we’ll
do something wrong at the same time and laugh about it. We
complement each other. But inevitably when you have two people in a
very little room for three months the tension can build and you can
see the negative points of the other person, but there is common
goal and we have managed this issue very well.”
Was the relationship
better between you than in the TJV?
Loïck Peyron:“We
didn’t send images back from the TJV so you didn’t see it, but we’re
very open people and we know each other much better now. That means
there are more possibilities for good mutual understanding between
us.”
Biggest memories from
the race?
Loïck Peyron:“The
most important souvenir for us? I don’t know. I like this little
record we made, it’s good for us. We made the record but you must
have ideal conditions – we were in perfect conditions and for our
boat as well. We sailed very regular, very clean and we beat some of
our competitors.”
Jean-Pierre Dick:
“The most beautiful moment was Cape Horn because it represents
so many things. The starting line in the South –we had a vision of
the Cape, and it was something magnificent because we were so close.
We were sailing at 19 knots one mile away from the Cape, and it was
something magical. It meant the end of a month of very difficult
weather conditions, it was really nice.”
How did you manage the
race?
Jean-Pierre Dick:
“Of course, in a race you have to take into account what your
competitors do and the first month was very intense with all these
competitions and comparisons. We carried on and on certain moments,
like when you see an accident on the road, you stop. But then you
carry on competing in the race and sometimes when you slow down you
can have an accident too, so you have to be alert to everything you
see.”
Loïck Peyron: “We
have to monitor our pace but we also have to keep track of our
competitors. Every time we lose a boat – and sometimes they are
friends – it’s never good news. And the pressure of MAPFRE during
the second half of the race was very difficult for us – we were
fully convinced that we could beat them, and as we were two on board
we were happy to have a certain level of competition but it’s not
something you can assume.
“We thought, well I thought,
that we were less quick than our competitors and we found the
‘Pacific express’ and were sailing faster and faster. Some of our
competitors had problems as well, Foncia for instance were very good
and our competitors in second and third have learnt very, very
quickly – they are excellent sailors. Loick at the beginning said
that maybe they wouldn’t be here until the end, but they are still
here.”
What’s next?
Jean-Pierre Dick:
“It’s clear for me, I’m going to carry on with IMOCA 60 racing.
I changed my life in 2002 when I took part in the Vendee Globe, and
now I want to win that. I have a good boat, I know it better and
I’ll try to make the race of my life to take part in the next
Vendee. That is what is going to occupy my mind in the coming years.
I am interested in multihull, Volvo Ocean Races, many things. But I
want to carry on with my partners because we’re going to carry on
this fantastic story that we have started together.”
Loïck Peyron:“But
I haven’t said I won’t do another round the world tour again – if I
could do it with my family that would be perfect, my children would
love that!!
Otherwise I would like to
repeat this round the world race because it’s something fantastic.
There’s always this fear when you start and obviously it’s a long
time – sometimes over three months you ask yourself ‘what am I doing
here?’ There are difficult moments obviously, and there are many
things we cannot control. But all we share all these things and make
people dream. And I think that what we do is useful.”
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