Rolex TP52 World Championship PORTO CERVO 2026
Owner, Jean Luc Petithuguenin is passionate about his sailing as is his crew. He has seen his team develop through two decades of offshore and international successes with a variety of classes and yachts, mostly with crew which was amateur at its core. They were one of the first to join the 52 SUPER SERIES way back in 2012. Increasingly the Paprec team have upped their game, bringing more professional sailors on board and in 2022 bought what was the newest boat in the fleet at that time, a highly optimised Botin design BP326.
Along the way Jean-Luc and the team have shown how they want to bring young French sailors into the grand prix yacht racing world, recruiting from the Olympic classes, the Figaro and match racing. But at heart they still share the same ethos, aiming to keep getting better and to keep enjoying their racing together.
Their race win in Key West in 2017 remained something of a landmark moment not just for the team but for everyone who shared their Champagne celebration!
But in 2024 they recruited French ocean racing legend Loïck Peyron as tactician. The 65 year old’s experience spans everything from foiling Moths to America’s Cup to winning the Trophée Jules Verne as well as the Route du Rhum solo on the giant Ultim Banque Populaire to the Vendée Globe which he finished runner up in 1990. But Loick is loving the new experience of top level, grand prix monohull racing on windward leeward courses whilst injecting a measure of youthful energy and rigour to the program and for sure the team is operating at the highest level yet.
And 2025 saw the Paprec team make real progress. They had speed and sailed smartly with Peyron really getting to grips with the finer points of grand prix fleet racing. In Cedric Chateau they have a top class, vastly experienced helm. They only just missed out on winning the Rolex TP52 World Championship in Cascais ceding the title to American Magic Quantum Racing on the last day. And in Porto Cervo they realised a long, long held ambition and finished on the season podium, taking third!
