With just three remaining events in the Orma Multihull Championship, the forthcoming The Grand Prix of Galicia will be extremely important for the final series ranking. At the midway point in the circuit, the present hierarchy may well see an upset, the leaders separated by just a few points as they head out onto the unfamiliar waters of this spectacular race zone.

None of these multihulls have ever been to Vigo to race; the Grand Prix of Galicia a premiere in Spain since the creation of the circuit in 1996.

The general outlook over the coming days shows a high pressure ridge settling over France with a small depression moving over the Iberian peninsula. The result is a strong easterly airflow over the north coast of Galicia (La Coruna) and a moderate northerly wind along the Spanish and Portuguese coastlines.

The upshot of this forecast is that the Grand Prix of Galicia is likely to prove particularly interesting as regards the breeze: Groupama 2’s domination (winning 15 out of 16 legs in the Grand Prix), in essentially light, shifty winds, may be threatened by the thermal breeze, especially if it is very active. In addition to the weather factor, the five competitors have also had time to hone their skills during the Mediterranean races (IB Group Challenge, GP of Corsica, Giraglia, GP of Marseille) and, formidable as Franck Cammas’ crew are, they have been really put under pressure on numerous occasions.

Frédéric Le Peutrec is proving increasingly incisive on Gitana 11 in the moderate breezes. Michel Desjoyeaux seems to have found a potentially winning combination on Géant in light winds, while Pascal Bidegorry (Banque Populaire) and Armel Le Cléac’h (Foncia) have been progressively improving since the start of the season. Thierry Duprey du Vorsent is another skipper that has really surprised his opponents, relegating several of the key players to Gitana X’s stern.

The six trimarans are currently tied up to the quai des Transatlantiques, an historic mooring which saw tens of thousands of emigrants set sail for the Americas. A vast ria provides over two miles of offshore racing between the headlands of Rodeira and Os Olmps; the starts and finishes marked out just off the port of Vigo and its abundance of panoramic views across the whole bay.

With just two Grand Prix races remaining after Galicia (Fécamp and Lorient) and the double-handed Transat Jacques Vabre (6 November) bringing the Multihull Championship to a close, the Grand Prix of Galicia, may well prove fundamental for the final podium of the season. Already, the ranking promises to be extremely close due to the damage suffered by Groupama 2 at the start of the season and the irregularity of the results table during the races.

Rankings (from the Grand Prix of Corsica – after seven legs)

1-Franck Cammas – Groupama 2 (1 1 1 1 1 1 1) 7 points

2-Frédéric Le Peutrec – Gitana 11 (2 2 2 2 2 4 4) 18 points

3-Pascal Bidegorry – Banque Populaire (3 3 3 3 3 5 2) 22 points

4-Michel Desjoyeaux – Géant (5 4 4 4 4 3 3) 27 points

5-Thierry Duprey du Vorsent – Gitana X (6 5 5 5 5 7 7) 40 points

6-Giovanni Soldini – TIM-Progetto Italia (4 6 8 6 6 6 5) 41 points

7-Armel Le Cléac’h – Foncia (DNF DNS DNS DNS DNS 2 6) 48 points

Ranking (from the Grand Prix of Marseille Métropole – after nine legs)

1-Franck Cammas – Groupama 2 (1 1 4 1 1 1 1 1 1) 12 points

2-Frédéric Le Peutrec – Gitana 11 (3 4 1 6 2 3 3 3 2) 27 points

3-Michel Desjoyeaux – Géant (4 2 5 3 4 2 2 2 3) 27 points

4-Pascal Bidegorry – Banque Populaire (2 3 2 4 3 6 6 5 5) 36 points

5-Armel Le Cléac’h – Foncia (5 5 3 2 6 4 4 4 4) 37 points

6-Giovanni Soldini – TIM Progetto Italia (7 6 7 5 5 5 5 6 7) 53 points

7-Thierry Duprey du Vorsent – Gitana X (6 7 6 7 7 7 7 7 6) 60 points

Provisional ranking overall

1-Pascal Bidegorry (Banque Populaire) 9 points (0 3 2 4)

2-Michel Desjoyeaux (Géant) 14.5 points (6 4 1,5 3)

3-Frédéric Le Peutrec (Gitana 11) 16.5 points (9 2 3,5 2)

4- Franck Cammas (Groupama 2) 21 points (21 0 0 0)

5- Armel Le Cléac’h (Foncia) 25 points (12 7 1 5)

6-Thierry Duprey du Vorsent (Gitana X) 29.5 points (15 5 2,5 7)

7-Giovanni Soldini (TIM-Progetto Italia) 66 points (51 6 3 6)

8 equal-Thomas Coville (Sodebo) 96 points (51 18 9 18)

8 equal-Yvan Bourgnon (Brossard) 96 points (51 18 9 18)