The team is based in Lorient, France, getting ready for the solo, non-stop, round-the-world race without assistance, “Vendée Globe 2020,” scheduled from November 8th, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 related cancellation of the two Atlantic regattas Transat CIC (May 10th-)” and “Transat NY-Vendée (June 16th-)”, the Organizer created a new variant as a qualification for the Vendée Globe – the Vendée-Arctic-Les Sables d’Olonne –to replace the two trans-Atlantic races. This solo race will be taking the sailors up past Iceland and into the Arctic Circle and then down to the Azores with a return to the start location planned around ten to twelve days later. In preparation for the upcoming race Kojiro Shiraishi started his solo training on June 9th, and successfully returned to Lorient on June 16th after covered 2,100 nautical miles on their own. The solo training extended from Lorient to the northern point of the Azores Islands – and back.
The team and the new yacht DMG MORI Global One aim to finish the course of the preliminary race, as it is a prerequisite to be qualified for the Vendée Globe 2020 (the ranking does not matter).