RACING FOR CHINA IN THE VOLVO OCEAN RACE TITLE PARTNER 4 | Dongfeng Race Team Dongfeng Race Team | 5 08 OVERVIEW 10 JOURNEY SO FAR 16 WHAT IS THE VOLVO OCEAN RACE 18 PREVIOUS EDITIONS 22 NEW RULES 64 DONGFENG MOTOR CORPORATION 24 RACE ROUTE 66 ZHIK 28 THE VOLVO OCEAN 65 ‘DONGFENG’ 68 AIR FRANCE 32 THE COMPETITORS 71 OC SPORT 36 THE TEAM 72 FOLLOW OUR STORY 58 THE STOPOVERS 74 MEDIA CONTACTS THE SAILING TEAM The 12-strong sailing squad is made up The team began training together in of professional yachtsmen and women October 2016, in locations such as from China, France, the Netherlands, Australia, Portugal and at the team base New Zealand, England and Australia. in Lorient, France. THE FULL SQUAD Charles Caudrelier (FRA) - Skipper Kevin Escoffer (FRA) Stu Bannatyne (NZL) Chen Jinhao/Horace (CHN) Jérémie Beyou (FRA) Yang Jiru/Wolf (CHN) Pascal Bidégorry (FRA) Marie Riou (FRA) Jack Bouttell (AUS-GBR) Daryl Wislang (NZL) Carolijn Brouwer (NLD) Liu Xue/Black (CHN) OVERVIEW THE CAMPAIGN Dongfeng Race Team is an international ocean racing. The team entered the last Volvo Charles Caudrelier professional sailing team that was created to Ocean Race in 2014-15 and fnished third take part in the Volvo Ocean Race, the pinnacle overall; it is now aiming to improve on that event in fully-crewed and extreme offshore performance in the 2017-18 edition. THE COURSE The Volvo Ocean Race sets sail from host ports, including Hong Kong and Alicante in Spain and makes its way Guangzhou in China. The total theoretical OUR TITLE PARTNER around the world via 11 legs and 12 race distance is 45,000 nautical miles. Dongfeng Race Team is sponsored by of China’s largest companies, Dongfeng Dongfeng Motor Corporation which is Motor Corporation is engaged in the located in Wuhan, the capital city of manufacture of commercial vehicles, cars, SCORING Hubei Province in central China. One auto parts and components. The race is scored by high-point system. transatlantic leg near the end of the The winner of every leg will score 9 race, will score double points. A further points plus one bonus point, with second bonus point will be awarded to the team SAILING IN CHINA place scoring 8 points and third 7, and with the shortest total elapsed time for Dongfeng Race Team is committed to helping will have been to assist in the development of so on. There will be a bonus point for the race at the finish. In the event of a to grow the sport of offshore ocean racing in sailing and also in helping the Chinese public the first team to pass Cape Horn and tie, the In-Port race series will be used as China and hopes that part of its sporting legacy understand and participate in the sport. the two Southern Ocean legs plus the a tie-breaker. 8 | Dongfeng Race Team Dongfeng Race Team | 9 OUR GOALS Taking part in the Volvo Ocean Race and Representing China in the world’s sailing to the best of the crew’s ability to longest global sporting event. achieve the best overall result. “With our strong overall result in this “The Western sailors helped the Chinese race, the good team spirit we created, sailors and taught them. We were not the and by winning the leg into China and favourites, we were a special team with our then winning again into Newport, we THE START OF THE own mission and we were the only boat to made the Chinese people proud of really fght for frst place against Abu Dhabi us. And when people are proud of DONGFENG RACE Ocean Racing. We can be proud of that” – someone or something, they talk about Charles Caudrelier (Skipper). them and everybody was talking TEAM STORY about us. So I don’t think we could Selecting and training the best new young have done much better on that score” sailors in the skills of offshore ocean – Charles Caudrelier. racing. Establishing offshore racing in China. “Chinese sailors who had almost no offshore sailing experience joined the squad and “We have inspired people in China, performed beyond expectations alongside shown them what is possible and our professional international crew. Together hopefully encouraged them to either get From the beginning, the Dongfeng Race 2014-15 edition was brave and ambitious, we showed what we could do, how we back on the water or get out there for the Team campaign was always about much creating a campaign that could truly be could overcome adversity and be an even first time. We are only at the first stages more than just another sailing team in said to have Chinese thinking and Chinese stronger, united team at the end” – Bruno and we know there are hundreds of steps the Volvo Ocean Race. Its mission in the blood running through its heart. Dubois (Team Director). to go” - Yang Jiru (Wolf). Dongfeng Race Team | 11 No one expected Dongfeng Race Team to be in contention for overall honours, not least because its crew included several inexperienced Chinese sailors. But their talent, combined with guidance from the international crew members on board, saw the team claim third place on the overall podium. Dongfeng Race Team stunned the sailing world, quickly going from underdogs to serious contenders in a matter of months. Highlights included two leg wins and fve podium fnishes out of nine legs. Only a mast break in the Southern Ocean on leg fve prevented the Chinese team from DONGFENG RACE TEAM IN THE fnishing even higher up the overall ranking 2014-15 VOLVO OCEAN RACE at the end of an epic race. - DEFYING EXPECTATIONS “I am proud of what we achieved together. A highlight for me was winning the leg into Sanya – that was an amazing feeling and something up until then that we could only dream about – but winning the leg to Newport from Brazil where we came back from the mast break was really special. It was a massive challenge for our whole team – sailors, shore team and management – and we pulled it off with a great win against Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing in the closing stages of the leg” – Charles Caudrelier. Dongfeng Race Team | 13 NEW FACES AND NEW SKILLS IN A NEW-LOOK DONGFENG RACE TEAM Dongfeng Race Team’s offcial crew presentation took place in Paris on May 16, 2017 IT’S GOOD TO BE BACK Preparation for the Volvo Ocean Race of the Volvo Ocean Race with Abu Dhabi - THE NEW CAMPAIGN is key and the second campaign started Ocean Racing. After fnishing third in the well. By January 2017, the re-ft of Vendée Globe in 2016-17, Jérémie Beyou Dongfeng Race Team is back for a second and Wolf returning after already Dongfeng was complete and the team of France will also add to the experience attempt at the Volvo Ocean Race. This completing one lap of the planet. This became the frst to start training on board in the crew as he swaps solo sailing for the time round the Chinese team intends time the campaign is backed 100% its newly-refurbished race boat. sport’s toughest team challenge. to compete at the highest level and is by Dongfeng Motor Corporation as focussed on sailing to the best of its ability the momentum to create a legacy for Despite this, the team has always been Pascal Bidégorry and Kevin Escoffer to challenge for overall race victory. offshore sailing in China continues aware that the Volvo Ocean Race is an proved invaluable members of the team and the company looks to expand its unpredictable affair, especially with the in the 2014- 15 edition and are back on Some might say the pressure is on, but global reach. additional factor of three times more board the red boat once again, alongside the sailors and shore team of Dongfeng Southern Ocean miles to cover than in the rising star Jack Bouttell. Race Team know the race is about “We have no illusions about how tough the previous edition. In light of this and much more than just winning a trophy. this race is, how unfair it can be at other changes, Dongfeng Race Team In addition, top female sailing stars, Marie The crew, led for the second time by times and how tough our opponents will welcomed experienced ocean racer and Riou of France and Carolijn Brouwer of Charles Caudrelier, remains committed be – we will try to do our best and work seven-time Volvo Ocean Race sailor, Stu the Netherlands, also joined the crew, in to developing the sport of offshore as hard as possible for the result we Bannatyne alongside fellow Kiwi Daryl response to new race rules that encourage sailing in China, with Black, Horace want” – Charles Caudrelier Wislang, winner of the 2014-15 edition mixed male-female teams. 14 | Dongfeng Race Team Dongfeng Race Team | 15 The Volvo Ocean Race is the longest event in boat, raced around the world with as few as international sport and one of sailing’s three four stopovers. indisputably great challenges, alongside the America’s Cup and the Vendée Globe solo After six Whitbreads between 1973 and round the world race. 1998, the race was re-branded when it was brought by Volvo. Having attracted a The key to the Volvo Ocean Race is that it wide variety of designs in its early years, is a unique test of teamwork on the great the Volvo feet has gradually become more THE ULTIMATE FULLY-CREWED oceans of the world and a stage race made standardised as Whitbread 60s were up of a series of legs between stopover replaced by Volvo 70s and eventually the ROUND THE WORLD TEST ports that is conducted at extraordinary current one-design feet of Volvo Ocean 65s - VOLVO OCEAN RACE 2017-18 levels of intensity.