Comprising six races (only the four best results count), the 2025 Class40 European Trophy came to an end this month, crowning the Le Havre duo from Seafrigo-Sogestran, Guillaume Pirouelle and Cédric Château, as champions for the first time. Guillaume L'Hostis (Alternative Sailing – Constructions du Belon) took second place and Fabien Delahaye (Legallais), despite only participating in three of the six races, completed the podium.
Guillaume Pirouelle and Cédric Chateau, winners of the European Trophy.
"Our victory in the European Trophy is great for the team. We had a difficult season last year when our boat was struck by lightning, which prevented us from racing for part of the season (but didn't stop them from breaking the record for the longest distance covered in 24 hours, 440.20nm! – Editor's note), and this 2025 season is going really well. We're taking part in all the races, it's great to have a good season and a fairly full calendar offered by Class40," summarizes Guillaume Pirouelle.
The European Trophy began in April with the Spi Ouest France BPGO, won by C. Douguet and A. Tréhin. This was the first race for Lift v3 and its first victory ahead of the Seafrigo-Sogestran and Amarris (A. Nebout) teams. Barely a month later, the hotly contested CIC Normandy Channel Race was also won by the Douguet-Tréhin duo, followed once again by the Le Havre team. Fabien Delahaye (Legallais) from Normandy, assisted by Pierre Leboucher, completed the podium.
Next stop: Les Sables d'Olonne for the first leg of the Sables Horta double-handed race, won by Italy's Maccaferri Futura (Rosetti-Sericano). The Spanish team VSF Sports (Costa-Santurde) and Legallais complete the podium. The solo return leg is won by Fabien Delahaye, followed by William Mathelin-Moreaux and Pep Costa. Although G. Pirouelle and C. Château did not make it onto the stage podiums, they did make it into the overall rankings thanks to their 4th and 5th places!
At the end of July, it was off to Cherbourg and back with the crew for the Rolex Fastnet Race. Third race and third victory for Corentin Douguet and his crew! Summer break in August and back in September with the 40 Malouine – La Trinquette, which crowned G. Pirouelle and C. Château offshore and inshore champions.
" We are very happy with the result, which highlights several things, including how well our duo works together. We complement each other, and for my part, it's a pleasure to be able to sail with Guillaume. I realize how valuable it is to find a partner you want to sail with. We are also lucky to have our partners, Seafrigo-Sogestran, who have been with us since 2021. Given our season, we can hope for great things in the Transat CAFE L'OR, even though we know that anything can happen. Guillaume and I are 100% in sync on the development of the boat. Guillaume spends a lot of time on the technical side and I spend more time on the overall project, which frees him up to focus on the technical aspects of the boat."
Cédric Château continues. “This transatlantic race will be the culmination of our work, because after that, things will be different with a year of solo sailing.” See you at the end of the coffee route to find out the results of the 2025 Championship, currently led by... the Seafrigo-Sogestran team!
Guillaume L’hostis, consistency rewarded
Guillaume L’Hostis, skipper of Alternative Sailing – Constructions du Belon, has had a remarkable season in Class40, finishing second in the European Trophy. The Fouesnant native was able to count on Antoine Le Manchec and Pierre Le Roy for support this year. Consistent and solid from the start of the season, he began with a fourth place in the Spi Ouest-France, a fifth place in the CIC Normandy Channel Race, and then another fifth place in the Sables–Horta. "There is a really high level in Class40, with different boats and skippers from different backgrounds, of different ages and with different track records, which makes it a very interesting and rapidly developing class. The CIC Normandy Channel Race was very formative as we had very solid conditions and a technical course, which allowed me to clear up a lot of doubts and really understand how the boat worked. Starting with a race like this makes things easier for the rest of the season, with the ultimate goal being the Transat Café L'Or."
Fabien Delahaye completes the podium
Legallais' skipper is not there just to make up the numbers. Alongside Pierre Leboucher, he got the season off to a strong start by climbing onto the third step of the podium in the CIC Normandy Channel Race. The duo then followed up with another third place in the Sables–Horta leg, before Fabien won solo on the return leg to Les Sables-d'Olonne, confirming his consistency. Forced to withdraw before the start of the Rolex Fastnet Race, he is one of the most consistent sailors of 2025. " The 2025 season is going very well so far for our Legallais project. We are very happy to add another podium finish in this 2025 European trophy to our project after our third place in the NCR and our recent victory in Les Sables Horta. All that remains is to continue this momentum in the TRANSAT CAFÉ L’OR, which is our main objective for the 2025 season."
Of particular note is the impressive performance of Djemila Tassin, who, in her first season in Class40, won the Class40 point-scoring classification in the Europe Trophy, finishing in 17th place.
Discover the complete rankings for the 2025 European Trophy :
https://www.class40.com/modules/kameleon/upload/europeantrophy25.pdf
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