Brezellec's INTERFACE CONCEPT I Smokes J/80 Fleet(Presque Ile de Crozon, France)- This year's running of GPEN, as it's known locally, was near perfect. Great weather. Excellent Race Committees and PROs. Monstrous J/80 class? Yes, again, the largest class by a country furlong with fifty-eight teams participating. Said Marc Bouvet, head of the FFV (the French Sailing Federation), "This is the third year that the Grand Prix Ecole Navale provides support to the championship of French one-designs. With 180 boats (J/80s nearly 33% of the fleet), the event is a major one-design event in France. With nine nations present, it's fast becoming a classic in European one-design sailing circles. Moreover, foreigners may well come away with a title, may the best man win! But mostly GPEN is just an extraordinary event with an exceptional stretch of water, a commitment to the French Navy and an exceptional organization thanks to Alain Daoulas and his team." Bouvet's comments were spot on, great racing for all and the J/80 class was no exception- producing a dominant winner in the form of Eric Brezellec's team on INTERFACE CONCEPT I. Here is how it all turned out for the teams that sailed on this gorgeous body of water along the Atlantic side of France. 
The first day was busy with four races in the breeze for all sailors. The winds started at ten knots increasing to 20 knots early in the afternoon. Eric Brezellec on INTERFACE CONCEPT I found the conditions to his liking, scoring a 1-4-3-5 to be leading after the first day. Second was Luc Nadal on GAN'JA with a 3-21-4-1 and third was Nolwenn Lemaitre on ECOLE NAVALE I with a 6-6-5-3. After an invigorating day on Friday where the race committees were able to run four race for all series, Saturday was marked by calm conditions. Blame the capricious wind. It was not until the end of the day the J/80s sailed in much cleaner winds with about 7 kts of breeze. As a result, only one race was sailed. Matthew Souben, tactician of J/80 QUANTUM, said "The GPEN brings together top national crews. The level of the fleet is very high. It has been three years since I sailed on the series and I see it growing from year to year. The formula for J/80 works perfectly with a large fleet and a one-design boat. This morning we were sixth in the standings, four points behind the podium. It has been fantastic racing."
Sunday's forecast was significantly better, N-NW winds blowing 10-12 kts promised good racing and a wonderful finale to the GPEN event. After four days of racing, it's been quite clear the series is becoming more competitive in the J/80 class, the largest in the GPEN regatta. The win goes again, as in 2010 and 2011, to Eric Brezellec and his crew on INTERFACE CONCEPT I. Careful preparation, a set of sails developed by the skipper, training partners who join him on the podium-- all point to talent, work experience and above all three race wins that allowed them to dominate the Grand Prix. Very difficult to beat a scoreline of 1-4-3-5-1-1-3 for 13 pts net over a 7 race series-- an average below 2nd place! 
Behind Eric's IC1 team, it was very close for the top five, only four points separating the next four boats. Finishing in second overall was Martin Le Pape sailing ARPEGE PROMOTION to a 7-7-12-4-11-2-1 record for a net of 32 points. Third was Nolwenn Lemaitre sailing the top Ecole Navale boat for the French Navy, ECOLE NAVALE I sailed to a 6-6-5-3-14-7-5 tally for a 33.6 net pts total. Fourth in the fleet of 58 teams was Luc Nadal on GAN'JA with a 3-21-4-1-4-4-19 score line for 35 pts. Fifth was Simon Moriceau on INTERFACE CONCEPT 2 with one of the most consistent scores in the top five- tallying a 4-8-6-9-3-bfd-6 for a 36 pts net- other than Brezellec, the only boat to score all top 10 finishes. For more Grand Prix Ecole Navale sailing information 
