Tour Voile: Lorina Limonade Golfe du Morbihan on top form in Hyères!

Lorina Limonade on top form in Hyères © Jean-Marie Liot / A.S.O.

The 26 teams competing in the Tour Voile 2018 found a sustained thermal breeze together with clear blue skies and sizzling temperatures on their arrival in Hyères for Act 6 of the seven-leg event. The final Coastal Raid of the tour, which will return to the Nautical Stadium racing format from tomorrow and through Sunday's Super Final, saw overall leaders Lorina Limonade – Golfe du Morbihan take their fourth win of the tour (in 12 races held) and extend their lead over second-placed Beijaflore from six to nine points. Team Reseau Ixio maintain their third place overall and have put a nine-point cushion between themselves and Lorina Mojito – Golfe du Morbihan in fourth.

Straight off the line today the young crew on Team Reseau Ixio took command of the fleet and stayed at the front for the first half of the race. Never far from their heels however, Lorina Limonade slipped into the lead at the mark rounding just off Cap de Bregançon and stayed there right to the finish. The 27-mile race took the fleet around one of France's top regatta courses in the bay of Hyères and the format that sees the boats start and finish just off the beach proved incredibly popular with spectators in the Riviera holiday hotspot.

Lorina Limonade – Golfe du Morbihan, Team Reseau Ixio, Cheminees Poujoulat and Beijaflore formed a clear leading group throughout. But while the winning team skippered by Quentin Delapierre gradually put distance between themselves and the rest of the fleet, Team Reseau Ixio and Cheminees Poujoulat conducted their own private match race for second place. A battle that was won by the amateur team, leaving Bernard Stamm's Cheminees crew in third. Beijaflore, skippered by Valentin Bellet and currently second in the overall standings, finished one place off the podium while the rest of the fleet arrived a little further back.

Quentin Delapierre, skipper Lorina Limonade Golfe du Morbihan: "We have a great team and we alternate a lot on board and everyone is still feeling fresh. All of the line-ups work well. It's a treat to sail in these conditions. The tension is building as we move through the legs. Every point counts now."

Although on their inaugural Tour Voile, Reseau Ixio have made quite an impression so far. In addition to a superlative first Act in Dunkirk where they won two of the three nautical stadium days, they took second place in the Coastal Raid of the latest act in Gruissan and gave a repeat performance today. Although young and new to the Tour, the crew has excelled this year in Diam 24 OD events and both skipper Sandro Lacan and helm Robin Follin were with France's Youth America's Cup team in Bermuda last year.

Pierre Quiroga, Team Réseau IXIO: "We had two sailors from Hyères on board today and and we really wanted to do well here. Lorina Limonade Golfe du Morbihan got in our way, they were very fast and really deserve this win. We are third in the general classification and it's a good feeling."

After a thrilling win in yesterday's Coastal Raid, #SaillingArabia had a disappointing first day in Hyères, placing 15th in today's race, but retain their fifth place position overall behind Lorina Mojito – Golfe du Morbihan. Lorina Mojito also had an under par day and lost valuable points behind Reseau Ixio at the top of the separate classification for youth teams.

A further 200 points are up for grabs over the final three days of the Tour Voile but each one must be fought for tooth and nail in this highly motivated fleet. Racing continues tomorrow, Friday 20th July, with a Nautical Stadium day scheduled to start at 11.30.

Find out more at www.tourvoile.fr