Jean-Pierre Dick gets the title

IMOCA 2010 championship winner announced

With the completion of the Barcelona World Race, the 2010 rankings have now been established for the IMOCA class. And so it is Jean-Pierre Dick, skipper of Virbac-Paprec 3, who is the new champion as a result of his exceptional performance over the past two seasons. The weighting given to the Barcelona World Race also means that Spanish sailors make their entrance into the top ten, making it the most international line-up ever.

Each year, the IMOCA class draws up its rankings based on the results of the previous two years. The reason for this is simply that the class wishes to take into account at least one of the two round the world races scheduled in the four year cycle of events - the Barcelona World Race or the Vendée Globe. For the 2010 rankings, the results of the 2009 Istanbul Europa Race, the 2009 Transat Jacques Vabre, the 2010 Route du Rhum and the 2010 Barcelona World Race have been included. Each event is attributed a certain weighting. The competitors are awarded a number of points based on the number of entrants minus their final position in the rankings plus one. So in other words, in a race with 15 boats registered, the winner receives 15 points, the boat that finishes second 14 points and so on.

Jean-Pierre Dick honoured

Winner of the Barcelona World Race, fourth in the Route du Rhum, fifth in the Istanbul Europa Race, the skipper of Virbac-Paprec 3 achieves this top title for the first time in his career. Dick has gone from being something of an outsider to becoming a hot favourite using the methods, which characterize his project: meticulous preparation with the clear desire to clock up the miles, reliance on a solid and stable shore team and partners that have remained loyal since Dick first entered the IMOCA circuit. He takes over the top spot from Marc Guillemot.

A very international Top Ten

Three Spaniards, Alex Pella, Pachi Rivero and Iker Martinez, and one British sailor, Dee Caffari complete the top five. Pella and Rivero owe their position to their excellent results in the Barcelona World Race, but also in the Transat Jacques Vabre and come in ahead of Iker Martinez, who with his co-skipper, Xabi Fernandez, finished just behind Jean-Pierre Dick and Loïck Peyron in the Barcelona World Race.

Five nationalities are represented in the top 10, as Ryan Breymaier (United States) and Wouter Verbraak (Netherlands) also enter the rankings.

The 2011 rankings will be taking into account the results of the 2010 Route du Rhum, the Barcelona World Race, the Europa Race and the 2011 Transat Jacques Vabre. We can be sure that Jean-Pierre Dick, who has already announced he will be taking part in the double-handed transatlantic race would like to win the race again after his victories in 2003 and 2005. This would be an excellent way to ensure he keeps his title for another year.

“I am very moved, as this title rewards the strong performances of the whole team over the past few years. We have striven to approach our work in the same way ever since the project began and this is in many ways the reward for this consistency," said Dick. "I know how much I owe to my team and also to my partners, who have always remained faithful, never flinching since the outset.

"We must be careful now not to rest on our laurels. The Transat Jacques Vabre is coming up at the end of the year. Along with Loïck, we noted down a list of little technical modifications, which should mean the boat can offer an even better performance. We are going to set about doing that. The goal is now to try to keep our title for another year.”

2010 IMOCA rankings

1 Jean-Pierre Dick, 144 pts
2 Alex Pella, 118 pts
3 Pachi Rivero, 114 pts
4 Iker Martinez, 104 pts
5 Dee Caffari, 93 pts
6 Ryan Breymaier, 80 pts
7 Roland Jourdain, 75 pts
8 Michel Desjoyeaux, 73 pts
9 Marc Guillemot, 70 pts