La Solitaire du Figaro is to undergo one of the biggest changes in its 50-year history when the solo offshore classic switches from the Figaro Bénéteau 3 one-design to the Ocean Fifty multihull class from 2028.
The move will bring a significant change for a race with a strong recent Irish connection through Meath sailor Tom Dolan, who became the first Irish winner of La Solitaire du Figaro when he claimed the overall title in 2024.
Dolan's victory was also historic internationally. He became the first non-French skipper to win the race since Switzerland's Laurent Bourgnon in 1988, and the first since La Solitaire moved to identical one-design yachts in 1990.
The change to the 50-foot trimarans has been agreed by Groupe Figaro, which owns the race, and organiser OC Sport Pen Duick as part of a long-term strategy extending to 2036.
The organisers say the move is intended to preserve La Solitaire's position as a leading annual event in French offshore racing while responding to changing expectations from the public, commercial partners, media and host ports.
Despite the change of boat, the fundamental format of the race will remain intact. La Solitaire will continue as a solo, multi-stage offshore race, with the overall result decided on cumulative time.
The Ocean Fifty class was selected following what organisers described as an "in-depth review" of the future of the event.
The 50-foot trimarans are expected to provide greater speed and spectacle while also creating new opportunities for public engagement, hospitality and shoreside activity at the race's stopovers.
Organisers said the new platform would allow La Solitaire to maintain its sporting challenge while increasing its media reach and providing a renewed experience for host destinations and commercial partners.
The switch will also make La Solitaire a flagship annual event on the Ocean Fifty Series circuit, adding a major solo competition to the class programme.
Ocean Fifty Class co-president Sébastien Rogues said skippers and owners initially regarded the proposal as a "revolution", but subsequently saw it as an opportunity to reinforce the identity of the class.
"La Solitaire du Figaro will become a flagship annual event of the Ocean Fifty Series championship, adding a highly demanding solo dimension to the circuit," Rogues said.
He added that the race would provide Ocean Fifty skippers with valuable preparation for the Route du Rhum, held every four years.
The transition will not take place immediately. The 2027 La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec will continue to be contested in the Figaro Bénéteau 3, while La Transat Paprec will also retain the one-design yacht for its mixed double-handed format.
La Solitaire was created in 1970 as the Course de l'Aurore before being taken over by Groupe Figaro in 1980. OC Sport Pen Duick has organised the event since 2011.
Groupe Figaro chief executive Marc Feuillée described the race as "far more than a race" and a sporting institution that the group had stewarded for more than four decades.
"Our responsibility is to preserve what makes it unique while preparing it for the future," he said.
OC Sport Pen Duick president Hervé Favre acknowledged that the switch represented a major milestone in the race's history.
"It is our role to ensure that, for decades to come, the event continues to be the premier annual event in French offshore racing while remaining true to the sporting principles that have built its reputation for more than fifty years," he said.
For Irish offshore sailing, the change will ultimately close the chapter on the Figaro Bénéteau 3 era in which Dolan achieved his landmark 2024 victory — a result that placed an Irish name on the roll of honour of one of solo sailing's most demanding events.
