Volvo Ocean Race: Caudrelier's comeback with Dongfeng

Charles Caudrelier and his Dongfeng team are going into the second round: the likeable Frenchman and the Chinese project with team director Bruno Dubois want to give it another go after their rousing debut performance. Dongfeng made the announcement at a press conference in Wuhan, China.

With Charles Caudrelier making his debut as skipper, the Franco-Chinese team had achieved a highly acclaimed third place in the most famous team race around the world. However, a cancelled stage cost them a possible even better position. The main partner in the second attempt is 100 per cent Dongfeng Motor Corporation, whose parent company is based in Wuhan in the province of Hubei.

After Simeon Tienpont's team AkzoNobel, the second team for the Volvo Ocean Race 2017/2018 over 45,000 nautical miles has now gone public. Dongfeng is once again sailing under the Chinese flag. Charles Caudrelier, who was one of the winners of the 2011/2012 VOR edition with the French team Groupama before taking over responsibility as skipper of the Dongfeng Race Team in 2014/2015, formulated his ambition straightforwardly: "The goal is to win." The 42-year-old is looking forward to the challenge: "I'm certainly very happy, because I've learnt a lot about China and its people and really enjoy working with them. It's great for us that Dongfeng, our sponsor, is once again involved, who continues to focus on sailing and is happy about its renewed commitment."

Caudrelier is convinced that the early start to the project will give him a head start in recruiting his crew and in training. But it won't be easy, says Caudrelier: "We have the longest race ahead of us so far, with three times as many Southern Ocean legs." With the second Dongfeng project, China is continuing its tradition in the Volvo Ocean Race, which the country started with "Green Dragon" (2008/2009) and Team Sanya (2011/2012). VOR manager Mark Turner, who was project manager for the Dongfeng Race Team in the last edition before taking over from Knut Frostad and moving to the helm of the Volvo Ocean Race, said: "I'm delighted that a Chinese sponsor new to sports sponsorship is getting involved for a second time because the first campaign was a success."