\u00a0(performance engineer) discuss the technical aspects and future prospects of the race.<\/em><\/p>\nTo say that the winter routine of the teams at VPLP Design was steeped in the Arkea Ultim Challenge-Brest is an understatement. \u201cThe map was totally addictive, and it goes without saying that, for both us and the teams, this was\u00a0a high-stakes course<\/strong>,\u201d says Xavier Guilbaud.\u00a0<\/em>\u201cAll eyes were on us, so seeing five of the six trimarans cross the finish line was particularly satisfying.\u00a0<\/em>Obviously,\u00a0Banque Populaire\u00a0XI<\/em>\u2019s pit stop occurred too early and\u00a0SVR Lazartigue\u2019<\/em>s\u00a0<\/em>retirement was especially disappointing for us.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\nInterviewed upon arrival at Brest, Charles Caudrelier (whose performance is applauded by everyone at VPLP) discussed the breathtaking duel that saw him battle Tom Laperche for the first eleven days of the race. In particular, he evoked his sense of relief when\u00a0SVR Lazartigue<\/em>\u00a0was required to reduce pace after colliding with an unidentified floating object (UFO), the risks associated with maintaining such an intense pace being particularly acute for both skippers. Often sailing close to their target speeds \u201cthey drove their boats impressively over a sustained period<\/strong>,\u201d says Xavier Guilbaud.\u00a0<\/em>\u201cThey weren\u2019t far off the 24-hour Distance Record and in particular, Armel logged more than 800 nautical miles a day on several occasions in the Indian Ocean.\u201d<\/p>\nFacts that demonstrate the boats have reached maturity or as Xavier Guisnel (VPLP partner engineer) would put it: \u201cthe fruit of the enormous progress achieved over the last five years<\/strong>, of considerable work, and of the productive discussions with the teams sustained over the duration.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>For Xavier,\u00a0SVR Lazartigue<\/em>\u2019s high-speed accident is nothing less than \u201ca very serious warning with a thankfully fortunate outcome thanks to Tom\u2019s cool head, the reasonable weather conditions and the relative proximity of South Africa.\u201d<\/p>\nMer Concept will start rebuilding the blue trimaran\u2019s bottom and adding the reinforcements. The other VPLP-designed Ultims will also be getting structural reinforcements. \u201cAll the teams are continuing to invest in systems to detect and avoid UFOs at sea.\u00a0<\/em>As for VPLP, we need to\u00a0work on the impact force calculations<\/strong>\u00a0so we can propose more resilient solutions<\/strong>\u00a0in the case of a collision, such as a double centerboard case.\u00a0<\/em>The watertight sections must also be better compartmentalized to limit flooding and the problems associated with the free surface effect,\u201d says Xavier Guisnel.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n