Sébastien Rogues takes Team ENGIE to the podium in Sotogrande

The 4th stage of the GC32 Racing Tour concluded today in Sotogrande, Spain marked by Sébastien Rogues and Team ENGIE's fine performance. The team, coached by Olympic trainer Bertrand Dumortier, achieved their best performance of the season so far, finishing third with 62 points. The last event, which will be held in Marseille, will be an opportunity to put to the test some of the positive changes that have been brought on board as they aim for fifth place on the overall rankings.

The fourth stage of the circuit was held in Sotogrande's stunning race area, close to the Gibraltar Straits, and provided ENGIE with a chance to prove they can sail better. With 62 points, Team ENGIE have achieved their best performance so far this season, resulting in their first podium win. Finishing races in third place, two seconds and one win propels them up to the top half of the leaderboard.

Sébastien Rogues and his crew made up of Gurvan Bontemps, Jean Baptiste Gellée, Antoine Joubert and Benjamin Amiot, managed to find the right pace on board their foiling catamaran. The arrival of coach Bertrand Dumortier, who joins the team for the two final events of the year, has borne fruit. Coaching is a critical aspect in the approach to racing and having a critical perspective is key to overall results. Bertrand Dumortier’s experience as a national coach made a huge difference in key areas of how they race, particularly to the team’s start strategy.

"We are very satisfied and happy with our third place. The tension was running high during this regatta. We held it together mentally and the work we have done with our coach Bertrand Dumortier has improved us a lot; particularly our starts. This has been a tough area of the game for me but I'm really pleased to have been able to work on that and feel the difference. The start is 70% of the success. Bertrand’s great experience really brought us a lot in Sotogrande. He now has the challenge of reproducing it for Marseille. We are keeping an eye on the standings and aim to finish in the top half of the fleet overall. We are really happy with our performance in Sotogrande; this first podium win for ENGIE really means a lot to us”, explained Sébastien Rogues.

There is work to be done on the team’s overall consistency, but Team ENGIE has found the key to managing the races better. The team will now focus on analysing data and run through areas to improve with their coach in the build up to the final event of the season in Marseille, taking place from 13 to 16 October.

“It was a beautiful race. The crew needed to rework on some essentials but overall we shouldn’t forget that these are elite athletes, they know their job. We worked on a few details such as starts for Sébastien and different aspects such as manoeuvres and passing of marking buoys. We still have a few things to work on but with this podium win Team ENGIE will go to Marseille in good condition. The collective effort of the team is great and I think they have huge respect for each other”, said Bertrand Dumortier of his collaboration with Team ENGIE.

Marseille will be key for the overall standings. Four teams are battling it out for 5th place; Malizia (23 points), Gunvor Sailing (24 Points ), ENGIE (24 points), and Argo (24 points). Sébastien Rogues’s aim to finish in the top 5 overall is now within reach. The skipper is even more motivated now he’s aware of the type of performance they are capable of achieving. Team ENGIE and their shore crew will therefore do everything they can to achieve the perfect race in Marseille.