After a remarkable season, the duo Guillaume Pirouelle (31) and Cédric Château (48) from Le Havre have won the 2025 Class40 championship. Regulars in the top five on the Class40 circuit for the past two years aboard their Mach.5 Seafrigo-Sogetsran, the pair clinched this title for the first time, succeeding another Norman, Pierre-Louis Attwell, who was crowned champion in 2024.
Their 2025 championship: 4 races, 3 podiums including one victory and one top 5
Second in the CIC Normandy Channel Race, third in Les Sables-Horta, fifth in the Rolex Fastnet Race and winner of the Transat Café l'Or Le Havre Normandie...
Guillaume Pirouelle : “That's not bad! It shows that we've been consistent throughout the season; every race is difficult, there are some tough competitors out there. We've been on track all season, we've worked hard! »
A particularly competitive season
A large number of Class40s took part in the races (100 projects are ranked in the 2025 championship!) and, among them, many contenders for victory. At the start of each race in this championship, it was very difficult to predict the top three finishers.
Each race offered a thrilling battle on the water, right up until the final miles: In the CIC Normandy Channel Race, which kicked off the championship and was won by Corentin Douguet and Axel Tréhin (SNSM, Faites un don), only a matter of minutes separated Seafrigo-Sogestran (G. Pirouelle/C. Chateau) in second place from Legallais (F. Delahaye/P. Leboucher) in third.
In Les Sables Horta, there was only a few minutes’ difference between the winner of the overall classification, Legallais (Fabien Delahaye), his runner-up VSF Sports (Pep Costa) and Guillaume Pirouelle, who completed the podium, both on the outward double-handed leg as well as on the solo return.
The Rolex Fastnet Race, held in August in odd-numbered years, once again crowned the Lift3 in the colours of the SNSM (C. Douguet/A. Trehin), after just over three days of racing. VSF Sports and Les Invincibles (Pietro Luciani) completed the podium, in just 7 minutes! Seafrigo-Sogestran finished fifth, less than forty minutes behind the winner.
At the end of these 3 major races, the Pirouelle/Château duo was leading the championship by a narrow margin, and the Transat Café L'Or Le Havre Normandie promised to be a formidable challenge with 42 Class40s at the start and a change of scenario on the morning of the start with the announcement of a stopover in La Coruña. And once again, what intensity, what suspense! The team from Le Havre lead the southerners, while the Douguet/Tréhin duo lead the northerners. Who would win? We had to wait until the final hours (and even minutes!) of the race and the rounding of Martinique to find out. And finally, only 7 minutes after an entire transatlantic crossing.
Cédric Château: "Being at the top of the championship before the Transat is also because rock stars like Corentin Douguet didn't take part in all the races. We had never beaten him before the start, he was just unbeatable, which meant there was a slight gap. The value of this championship is that it shows who is in good form over the course of a year, so we're delighted with this season. After winning the Europe Trophy, we won the Transat and the Championship!"
A shared title
One boat for two skippers. The project is very much in keeping with the spirit of Class40: the first, Guillaume, is a professional skipper but also sails on other boats, such as the Ultime Sodebo, with which he competed in the Rolex Fastnet Race; the second is the sporting director of the Normandy Elite team and also sails on other boats, such as the TP52 Paprec, with which he competed in the World Championship during Les Sables-Horta. Neither of them can therefore be full-time on the project, which is why they are sharing it. But that's not all.
Cédric Château: "I set up this project with our partners to give young talent from Normandy a chance. We weren’t supposed to do the Transat Café l'Or together because I was going to hand over to Guillaume earlier, but as our 2024 season was cut short... The idea is that Guillaume will no longer be bothered by the “old guard” in 2026, that he will bring a youngster into the project in 2027 and that this youngster will take over the project in 2028. The Class40 is a cost-effective class and is therefore an ideal platform for giving tomorrow's sailors a chance."
In line with this approach, Alexis Loison had accompanied Guillaume on the first leg of Les Sables Horta, while Cédric took Théa Khelif and Marion Engelhard on board for the Fastnet.
Good results to kick off 2026
The results of the 2025 championship are therefore extremely positive: 100 projects ranked, 10 nationalities represented among the skippers, 4 architects (6 designs) in the top 10... it took consistent performance at the forefront to win this high-level championship.
It is also worth noting the impressive performance of the “pointed” Class40s: in this category, victory went to the crew for the climate, Belco CEC (#147), led by Louis Mayaud and Alexandre Bellangé, who finished 19th overall. Second place went to Djemila Tassin on Belgium Ocean Racing (#153), with the Mediterranean crew of the Phénix Ha Plus Me project (#142) taking third place.
Also worth noting are the impressive performances of:
See you in 2026 for what is sure to be at least as much competition in a season where solo sailing will take centre stage!
The 2026 programmes : Class40
They said :
Pamela Lee, first woman : « I am delighted with the results of my first full season as Skipper in Class40. I am really proud because it is a true testament to how the whole team worked together, on and off the water, to make this possible - especially with a new project, an international project!
A big thank you to my co-skipper Jay Thompson, who was with me all season. I am delighted to share this hard-earned result with my team, my supporters and my sponsors, and I see it as a great encouragement for our future potential."
Fabien Delahaye, second of the 2025 championship : "I'm very happy to finish another season in the colours of Legallais on the Class40 championship podium in second place, just like last year. This is testament to our consistency with Pierre (Leboucher). It's been an incredible season on the Class40 circuit, which continues to raise the bar. After our victory in the CIC NCR in 2024, we won a major event on the circuit in 2025 with Les Sables Horta, which had a solo dimension. This bodes well for 2026 and the Route du Rhum, which is now in our sights. I'm already looking forward to next year!"
Guillaume L’Hostis, third of the 2025 championship : "First of all, I am very happy to have made it onto the podium in the championship in my first year. My first thoughts go to my two partners (Alternative Sailing and Les Constructions du Belon) who placed their trust in me. We will be able to celebrate this podium together.
This result validates all the work done this season, the consistency in an intense championship with a strong line-up of competitors.
Now it's time to move on to a great year of solo sailing and a challenging Route du Rhum.”
2025 Championship ranking :
The rest of the ranking : championnat2025.pdf
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