François Gabart: "It's down to us to build a new project in harmony with tomorrow's world"
by MerConcept 12 Jun 2020 02:55 NZST
It was in a very special context that the central hull of the new M101 trimaran arrived at our premises, where the assembly and completion of construction will take place.
Indeed, the Macif group announced yesterday that they were putting an end to a ten-year partnership with François Gabart, by halting the Ultim sponsorship in a bid to re-centre its involvement on the Imoca and Figaro Beneteau circuits.
MerConcept is nevertheless continuing with the construction of this new multihull, as well as its mission with Charlie Dalin and his preparation for the Vendée Globe 2020 on Apivia, and its support of Figaro sailors Pierre Quiroga and Erwan Le Draoulec.
Though this is a tough decision, François' passion and his desire to sail this fabulous flying boat is very much intact. Equipped with a new 3,000m2 building based in Concarneau and surrounded by a talented and experienced team, François will put all his energy into finding protagonists prepared to accompany him on a crewed round the world this winter.
Convinced that sports sponsorship has to reinvent itself and that offshore racing must make a whole series of technical transfers to benefit the evolution of the marine sector, François and MerConcept are keen to be a part of a new era in which innovation and progress will have greater meaning for society and the planet. The world is changing. It's down to us to build a project in harmony with tomorrow's world.