The Solitaire du Figaro, previously called the Course de l'Aurore, is a solo multi-stage sailing race created in 1970 by Jean-Louis Guillemard and .[1] The unique character of the race, the presence of great solo sailors and its being open to amateurs, has made it one of the most cherished races in French sailing.
From 1970 to 1979 the race was organised by the newspaper L'Aurore. In 1980 the daily newspaper Le Figaro bought out L'Aurore and became the principal sponsor of the event.
From 2003, the eyewear company was an associate sponsor. The official name of the race became La Solitaire Afflelou Le Figaro. Since 2008, the motor manufacturer Suzuki replaced them, and the race became named La Solitaire du Figaro Suzuki.
Since 2011 the title sponsor of the race has been Éric Bompard Cachemire, a French fashion house specialising in cashmere garments.
The characteristics of the race are:
In early races, boats were all from the same series. Since 1980, the race used prototype half-tonners.[2]
In 1991, the Solitaire du Figaro made the milestone of becoming a One-Design race. The race organisers chose the Bénéteau Figaro (later called the Figaro Bénéteau I) designed by Group Finot and Jean Berret.
In 2003, a new design called Beneteau Figaro 2 was introduced and it was replaced in 2018, by the hydrofoiling Beneteau Figaro 3.
| Year | Winning Skipper | Winning Boat Name | No. Starters | Note | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | ||||||
| 1971 | Rousslane | Centurion. | ||||
| 1972 | Cap 33 | Super Arlequin . | ||||
| 1973 | Araok Atao. | |||||
| 1974 | Radial, Bes. | |||||
| 1975 | Jabadao | Clipper MC . | ||||
| 1976 | C Cook | Mallard 9 m. | ||||
| 1977 | Rallye | Ron Holland. | ||||
| 1978 | Kelt-La Concorde | Berret. | ||||
| 1979 | Chaussettes Olympia | Eglantine (JM Finot). | ||||
| 1980 | Port de Pornic | Gahinet. | ||||
| 1981 | Chantier Pichavant | Joubert Nivelt 81. | [3] [4] | |||
| 1982 | GibSea+4 | GibSea plus 90. | ||||
| 1983 | Hitachi | Joubert Nivelt 82. | ||||
| 1984 | Presqu'ile de Crozon | Andrieu 84. | ||||
| 1985 | Fleury Michon | Andrieu 85. | ||||
| 1986 | Normerel | Joubert Nivelt 82. | [5] | |||
| 1987 | in Eterna, Joubert Nivelt 82. | |||||
| 1988 | Saint-Brévin | Joubert Nivelt 82. | ||||
| 1989 | Concorde | Andrieu 89. | ||||
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| 2024 | Smurfit Kappa – Kingspan | |||||
All places are in France unless otherwise stated.
1st stage: Les Sables-d'Olonne – Getxo/Bilbao (Spain)
2nd stage: Getxo/Bilbao – La Rochelle
3rd stage: La Rochelle – Dingle (Ireland)
4th stage: Dingle – Saint-Nazaire – 1979 nmi
42 skippers started, 42 finished.
1st stage: Caen – Portsmouth (England)
2nd stage: Portsmouth – Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie
3rd stage: Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie – Gijón (Spain)
4th stage: Gijon – Quiberon – 1373 nmi
51 competitors.
52 skippers started, 52 finished.
1st stage: Perros-Guirec – Getxo-Bilbao (Spain) – 390 nmi
2nd stage: Getxo-Bilbao – La Rochelle – 368 nmi
3rd stage: La Rochelle – Cork (Ireland) – 456 nmi
4th stage: Cork – Talmont-Saint-Hilaire – 496 nmi
(Delta Dore) in 248h 49min 20s (Géant) +1h 20min 54s (Groupe Bel) +1h 58min 41s (Cercle Vert) +2h 17min 9s (Groupe Generali Assurances) +2h 24min 22s (Cliptol Sport) +2h 29min 45s (Brossard) +2h 35min 53s
(Nanni Diesel) +3h 5min 12s, first newcomer (Thales) +3h 13min 3s (Bostik) +3h 18min 57s46 skippers started, 42 finished.
1st stage: Cherbourg-Octeville – Santander (Spain) – 590 nmi
2nd stage: Santander – Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie – 314 nmi
3rd stage: Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie – Dingle (Ireland) – 549 nmi
4th stage: Dingle – Concarneau – 449 nmi
Started 6 August 2006, with 44 competitors.
(Financo) in 297h 01min 56s (Littoral) +1h 56min 55s (Scutum) +3h 55min 28s (Brit Air) +5h 20min 20s (Groupe Generali assurances) +6h 33min 07s (Bostik) +6h 57min 50s (Iceberg Finance) +6h 58min 36s (AXA Plaisance) +7h 21min 53s (Pixmania.com) +7h 49min 08s (Groupe Bel) +7h 58min 03sStarted 29 July 2007, with 50 competitors.
1st stage: Caen – Crosshaven (Ireland) – 425 nmi
2nd stage: Crosshaven- Brest – 344 nmi
3rd stage: Brest – A Coruña (Spain) – (shortened to 542 nmi)
4th stage: A Coruña – Les Sables-d'Olonne – 355 nmi
After ten competitions, Michel Desjoyeaux was the third French sailor to win his third Figaro race, this one being marked by strong winds (as much as 50kn in the last two stages which crossed the Gulf of Gascogne.
(Foncia) in 247h 20min 47sec (Distinxion) +26 min 38s (Leclerc/Bouygues Telecom) +1h 03min 50s (Financo) +1h 41min 26s (Le Comptoir Immobilier) +2h 14min 23s (Luisina) +2h 39min 05s (Scutum) +3h 16min 53s (Cercle Vert) +3h 19min 48s (Défi Mousquetaires) +3h 29min 34s (Rapid’Flore Caen-La-Mer) +4h 01min 11sin Bostik finished first newcomer in 14th place.
Started 25 July 2008, with 50 competitors.
1st stage: La Rochelle – Vigo (Spain) – shortened to 320 nmi
2nd stage: Vigo – Cherbourg-Octeville – 575 nmi
3rd stage: Cherbourg-Octeville – l'Aber Wrac'h – (shortened to 471 nmi)
(Financo) in 226h 32min 51sec (Cercle Vert) +2h 22min 15sec (Distinxion) +3h 34min 38s (Athema) +3h 53min 57sec (Banque Populaire) +4h 54min 50sec (DCNS 97) 4h 55min 37s (KONE Ascenceurs) +5h 03min 54s (Le Comptoir Immobilier) +5h 52min 27s (Docteur Valnet aromathérapie) +5h 52min 46s (SUZUKI Automobiles) +6h 23min 08sFrançois Gabart in Espoir Région Bretagne finished first newcomer in 16th place.
Nicolas Troussel won a race marked by a windless first stage in which he "French: tué la course" ("killed the race", leading to the neologism "Do a Troussel", in fr|faire une Troussel) by arriving six hours ahead.[6] It was his second victory in the race.
Started 30 July 2009 for the 40th race, with 52 competitors.
1st stage: Lorient – A Coruña (Spain) – 345 nmi
2nd stage: A Coruña – Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie 365 nmi
3rd stage: Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie- Dingle (Ireland) – 485 nmi
4th stage: Dingle- Dieppe – 511 nmi
Starting on 4 June 2017 from Pauillac, France the 48th edition of the race commenced with 43 competitors:
36 French, 3 British, 1 Swiss, 1 Turkish, 1 Czech and 1 American – a split of 37 men and 6 women skippers took on the challenge.