Set a date for the 17th CIC Normandy Channel Race

CIC Normandy Challenge Race fleet in Caen © Jean-Marie LIOT / CIC NCR

Now published, the Notice of Race for the 17th CIC Normandy Channel Race offers double-handed Class40 crews another edition of the Norman classic from 27 May to 7 June 2026 with the race setting sail on Sunday 31 May at 2pm.

The fundamentals of the race, its course and its main rules are set in stone, though factors like the weather conditions often call for minor adjustments to the initial plans. This latest edition also brings with it another 3-year commitment from the local authorities in Normandy (City of Caen / Caen la Mer Urban Community / Calvados Department / Normandy region), who have supported the CCI Caen Normandie and Sirius Evenements since the start. Following on from a record-breaking edition in 2025 (participation levels for an exclusive Class40 event, media coverage), packed with both excitement and intrigue on the racetrack, the CIC Normandy Channel Race is continuing to bolster its status as a must-do event on the Class40 circuit.

An historic, landmark edition of the event in 2025

Boasting a stellar line-up for the event with some 32 competitors, a record figure for an exclusive Class40 event since the creation of the series, the 2025 edition will also be remembered as a particularly demanding race from a sporting perspective with just half the participants making the finish. Par for the course for any major event, there are always stand-out years of course. Climate change is an increasing challenge in offshore racing, as evidenced by the delayed start of the recent GLOBE40, despite setting sail from Lorient at the height of the summer, and the cancellation of the 1st leg of La Boulangère Mini Transat in September. 2025 also witnessed the event’s first ever accident at sea in 15 years when a competitor and a merchant vessel collided, ultimately without any serious human injury thankfully. In the end, it was ESPRIT LARGE (No.209) skippered by Corentin Douguet and Axel Trehin, which was the first to overcome all these difficulties and secure victory, adding its name to a Trophy whose inscription already features a great many of the top skippers of the day.

An increasingly central role on the offshore racing scene for Class40

Although the number of annual launches has come down in relation to 2021 and 2022, the class has nevertheless managed to welcome its 213th addition to the family this year in the form of the Italian Musa design, SALANO, for skipper Robin Follin. This equates to 55 Class40 ‘scows’ launched over the past 6 years, since the original and famous No.158. With a strong contingent of around forty boats in today’s transatlantic races - Transat Café L'or in 2025 and Route du Rhum in 2026 - , the Class40s also have their own Round the World race with the start in August of the 2nd edition of the GLOBE40. There is also a new Mediterranean sprint, the CIC MED CHANNEL RACE, created in 2025 according to the same model as the Norman event. The buoyancy of this sector is evident then, at a time when uncertain economic prospects call for the emphasis to be placed on reasonable financial undertakings, enabling access to all the major events and a class in which sustainable development is second to none. As such, there is every reason to believe that the Class40 will continue to be one of the key players in offshore racing over the coming years. Such is the case whether you step up to it from the Mini 6.50, compete in it for several years in order to flourish, or use it as a springboard to compete in other series of sporting excellence on the back of a string of successes.

Nearly 3.5-million viewers on the L'EQUIPE channel

The 2025 edition was also punctuated by an exceptional upgraded media package. Indeed, for the 3rd consecutive year, thanks to the support of the CIC, a powerful device has been put in place with the L'EQUIPE channel. This included an hour-long live feed at the start with significant technical means, plus a daily report broadcast multiple times and spanning 9 days and 33 key passages in the event. In all, there were 3,473,000 spectators, with a record 456,000 watching on a single day. There was also a huge following for the channel’s various programmes, including L'Equipe de Choc and L'Equipe de Greg, which provided a daily commentary on the race. Together with 1.82-million views on the channel’s social networks and 1.67-million views on the event’s network, there were a total of 3.5-million views in the space of a week.

This development supercharges the race’s traditional media partners, who have been accompanying us for the past 16 years to provide live coverage of the start on FR3 Normandie and a daily slot in the Normandy and Hauts de France regions over a 12-day period. ICI en Normandie and OUEST-FRANCE also provide applified coverage of the event.

The Notice of Race 2026 is published now and registration is open at normandy-race.com in the competitors’ areas