The 24 hour Rouen powerboat race was held on the Seine between May 25th and 28th on the route around Rouen’s Lacroix Island.
The ESIGELEC 24hr CHALLENGE team has competed in the top category every year. During the first half of the race, the team were frontrunners until an accident on May 27th.
The engine bracket broke and, being a hard to find part, it could not be repaired before the end of the race despite numerous attempts to fix it and assistance from other teams. The association never gave up and continued searching for potential solutions to get going and pass the finish line.
Despite the breakage, several members of the media interviewed team members to congratulate them on their work, enthusiasm and for not giving up hope. The young team member Amandine Charmasson, association president, got up on the podium to congratulate the female members. The big names in powerboat also congratulated team members for their performance during the race despite having three novices on the team.
The team has won the first category for the last three years and came third in the Augustow Competition in Poland in 2011. The team has even been world champion and runner up in endurance races!