Winner on the water of the first leg of the Solitaire du Figaro 2022 after 3 days, 18 hours and 24 minutes, Frédéric Duthil (
Le Journal des Entreprises
) knew when crossing the finish line in front of Port-la-Forêt that he was on the receiving end of a penalty.
A seal placed at the level of the engine had yielded at the start in Saint-Nazaire on his boat.
The 48-year-old sailor explained his problem:
It is very very expensive.
Especially since in my opinion it is a problem of installation at the start by the measurer.
They are plastic pellets.
In fact, it was too tight on the clutch nut.
It must have broken quickly when I started the engine to recharge my batteries.
I don't know how much it will cost me.
The minimum rule for a broken lead is 5 minutes per 100 miles.
As the stage was 559 miles, that means 30 minutes.
I have a few glands but I have to deal with it.
Frankly, I saw the problem quite quickly and even warned the race director 45 minutes after the start.
From the outset, I left with the balls.
It was steep and I had the whole stage to think about this unfortunate and accidental breakup.
A bullshit thing.
It would be enough for us to have a second lead to replace the broken one by warning the race direction.
I find this rule annoying.
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Photos taken
From then on, Frédéric Duthil will have to plead his case before the jury of the FFV race committee which must rule this Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
“
I don't know how to dispute the broken lead.
What I do know is that I took pictures to show the jury that the thing was too tight.
Now, will these pictures be enough, I'm not sure.
Will they lower the penalty, I hope.
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