Shipowner-racer, from Class40 to IRC 50 scow Palanad 4
French entrepreneur Olivier Magré has been campaigning for over fifteen years the lineage of the Palanad. Three successive Class40s, then the leap in 2025 to a 50-foot IRC scow with canting keel designed by Sam Manuard and built by JPS Production. The constant since the beginning: he races with a family crew, with his son Antoine Magré as skipper.
RORC Transatlantic 2026: Palanad 4 wins IRC overall
In January 2026, Palanad 4 wins the RORC Transatlantic Race in 1st IRC overall, in 8 days 5 hours 55 minutes from Lanzarote to Grenada. Skipper: Antoine Magré. Launched only a few months earlier, the boat thus claims the first major offshore victory for the Mach 50 — confirming the bet on the wide scow architecture, already proven in Class40 and Mini 6.50.
The Class40 legacy: Palanad 3, first in class to win the RORC transatlantic
In 2021, on Palanad 3 (Class40), Olivier Magré wins the same race in 1st overall — the first time a Class40 has won the RORC Transatlantic Race overall, across all ratings. The same year, the boat finished the Transat Jacques Vabre (16th Class40). Before that, the program included a Route du Rhum 2018 (25th) and a Rolex Fastnet 2013 (12th).
The recurring crew
Antoine Magré as skipper, Sam Manuard aboard his own design, Jean-Philippe Saliou (JPS Production), Pablo Santurde, Simon Koster, Richard Fromentin. A core team that rotates from one season to the next, with the designer and builder onboard — a rare setup that allows leveraging the boat from its first season.
Skysat preparation
Skysat prepares and campaigns Palanad 4 for its offshore campaigns.
Palmarès
- RORC Transatlantic Race 2026: 1st IRC overall on Palanad 4 (Mach 50 Manuard / JPS), skipper Antoine Magré, in 8d 5h 55min.
- Rolex Fastnet Race 2025: 2nd IRC Zero on Palanad 4, the boat's first offshore race.
- Transat Québec–Saint-Malo 2024: 6th Class40 on hull #160 E. Leclerc Ville La Grand.
- RORC Transatlantic Race 2021: 1st overall on Palanad 3 (Class40), the first Class40 to win this trophy.
- Transat Jacques Vabre 2021: 16th Class40 on hull #43.
- Route du Rhum 2018: 25th Class40.
- Les Sables–Horta 2017: 14th Class40.
- Rolex Fastnet Race 2013: 12th.
