The 2nd edition of the CIC Med Channel Race starts tomorrow
by Sirius Events 2 May 15:22 BST
3 May 2026
CIC Med Channel Race 2025 © Jean-Marie Liot / CIC Med Channel Race 2025
The 2nd edition of the CIC MED CHANNEL RACE will start tomorrow, Sunday, May 3, at 1:00 PM (departure from the Mucem basin at 11:00 AM) from the southern bay of Marseille.
After a coastal race in the bay of Marseille at around 15 knots, the Class40 fleet will head towards the islands of Porquerolles and Levant before setting course for Corsica to begin a journey of approximately 1,000 nautical miles, returning to Marseille at the end of the week via Sardinia and the Balearic Islands. The question is therefore posed: who will succeed Ian Lipinski and Alberto Bona, winners of the inaugural edition in 2025 aboard CREDIT MUTUEL?
A look back at a strong first edition
Created in 2025 with the support of Class40, the Marseille-based club CNTL, and its founding partners, the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis and CIC, the race adopted the fundamentals of its Norman predecessor, the highly demanding CIC NORMANDY CHANNEL RACE: an exclusive, annual, double-handed Class40 event, a challenging 1,000 nautical mile (1,852 km) course that takes skippers from Marseille for a week of racing, departing from Marseille and sailing to the islands of the Var, Calvi in Corsica, Sardinia, rounding the island of Palma de Mallorca before returning to Marseille; a mix of coastal and offshore racing, and, as the initial edition demonstrated, weather scenarios that can vary considerably.
The Mediterranean Sea revealed all its charms and challenges in 2025 on this magnificent course, from calms to sudden gusts of wind. It took Ian Lipinski and Alberto Bona 4 days, 23 hours, and 21 minutes to cover 991 nautical miles at an average speed of 8.31 knots on the course of the very first CIC MED CHANNEL RACE. The Franco-Italian duo won the inaugural edition of what could well become one of the great classics of offshore racing, Mediterranean style. The two skippers put all their talent, energy, and experience into overcoming the Var-based crew of Mikael Mergui and Kini Piperol on their CENTRAKOR: over five days, the gap was mostly minimal, the tension extreme, and the battle relentless.
The Class40: A Future Star in the Mediterranean
The Class40 reinforces its status each year as a major series of monohull offshore racing sailboats, both nationally and internationally. This November, 47 Class40s will set sail in the Route du Rhum, representing 40% of the entrants in the famous transatlantic race and the largest series in terms of the number of participants. And just two weeks ago, the second edition of the GLOBE40, a round-the-world race with stages and double-handed sailing in Class40s, concluded in Lorient, giving the series a new and prominent place in major ocean racing events around the globe. In the Mediterranean, the Class40 fleet aims to grow through prestigious races like the one starting in Marseille; new initiatives are being developed with the Class40 to strengthen the competitive field in 2027, in conjunction with the Italian fleet, which has a strong presence in the Class40.
A second edition to confirm the sporting, media, and public interest
The ambition of the second edition is first and foremost to prove the Class40s' ability to complete a 1,000-mile race course in one week in the Mediterranean, renowned for its unpredictable and changeable weather. As in 2025, the official course may be adapted during the race to maintain the concept of a week-long race while offering the most scenic route through the stunning Mediterranean coastline. A fleet of around ten Class40s will be competing, a mix of classic, high-performance boats and the latest technology, the famous "scow" boats (with rounded bows), capable of impressive speeds (a record of 459 miles in 24 hours was set in the Pacific during the last GLOBE40). All the crews are presented in detail on the website (see link below).
On land, the race is once again being hosted at the stunning Mucem site and the J4 esplanade in front of the Old Port entrance, with the sailboats in the Mucem basin and an adjacent village on the esplanade. Thousands of Marseillais have already come to watch the Class40s since the event began last Wednesday. Nearly 300 children from Marseille schools and the surrounding metropolitan area have participated in an educational program and met the skippers. Finally, the media success stories from the first edition are back in place: a daily segment broadcast in the evening on all FRANCE 3 stations in Provence Alpes, Corsica, and Languedoc-Roussillon for 12 days, a partnership with ICI PROVENCE and the leading regional newspaper La PROVENCE, and continuous updates on social media.
To access the crew presentations: www.med-race.com/les-equipages
To follow the race on the map (a position update every 15 minutes): www.med-race.com/suivre-la-course
Website: www.med-race.com