Tiptoeing into the world of offshore racing, Louis Burton has managed to carve out a niche for himself around Saint Malo, where he settled after growing up in the Paris region. Starting out in Class40, thanks to the support of Bureau Vallée he very early on moved up to IMOCA and was the youngest skipper of the fleet at the start of the Vendée Globe 2012.
The adventure was cut short, but it did not discourage this born entrepreneur who, alongside his partner Servane Escoffier, also set about developing an offshore racing stable, BE Racing.
He set sail on a second round the world campaign, looping the loop in 7thplace, and then in April 2017 he took possession of the foiler that won the race back to Les Sables d’Olonne, the ex Banque Populaire VIII. He has a three-pronged approach to this latest project: “To familiarise himself with the speed and impact in breezy conditions, to discover how to make headway upwind in light airs and to adopt an approach that will result in a winning project”.
Indeed, ranked as an outsider, Louis Burton has since become a pretender to the podium, which was the case in the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe 2018 and a status that he cherished having made the start venue of Saint Malo his new home. Despite retiring from the race due to technical damage, he retains a burgeoning desire to conquer, so strong is his belief in the performance of his Bureau Vallée 2. Louis Burton is more determined than ever to secure a podium place in the next Transat Jacques Vabre, on 27 October 2019.
In 2020, the skipper of Bureau Vallée takes the start of the Vendée Globe. Throughout the course, Louis Burton will have shown great determination to overcome numerous technical problems, even forcing him to get closer to the Macquarie Islands in the South Pacific to climb to the top of the mast. After 80 days of racing, his second place at the finish line was a huge victory.
A few days after his return to shore, Louis and his team announced the purchase of L'Occitane en Provence, the IMOCA boat that Armel Tripon will be sailing in this 9th Vendée Globe. Only a few days after the launch of the IMOCA in Saint-Malo, the skipper, surrounded by four other sailors, launched himself on The Ocean Race Europe, the first crewed race in IMOCA, which will allow the sailor from Saint-Malo to take the boat in hand for the rest of the season. Unfortunately, only a few hours after the start of the 2021 Transat Jacques Vabre, Louis, accompanied by Davy Beaudart, a long-time friend, dismasted.
The team is back on a mast with the aim of taking part in all the races of the 2022 season in solo mode, but after a very good start to the season, Bureau Vallée is once again dismasting on the Route du Rhum. The disappointment is huge, but not enough to demotivate the skipper from Saint Malo, who will be back in the race in 2023.
2022: Route du Rhum - Retired (dismated)
Vendée Arctique - 5th
Guyader Bermudes 1000 Race - 3rd
2021 : Transat Jacques Vabre - ABD
Défi Azimut - 4th
The Ocean Race Europe - 5th
2020-21 : Vendée Globe - 3rd (80d 10h 25 m 12s)
2019: Transat Jacques Vabre - 10th
Défi Azimut - 10th
Rolex Fastnet Race - 4th
2018: Route du Rhum - Retired
Monaco Globe series - 8th
Bermuda 1000 race - Retired
2017: Transat Jacques Vabre - 7th
Rolex Fastnet Race - 6th
2016-17: Vendée Globe - 7th
2015: Transat Jacques Vabre - 9th
2014: Route Du Rhum - 5th
2013: Transat Jacques Vabre - 5th
2012: Vendée Globe - Abandonment after a collision with a trawler.
2011: Transat B to B - 7th
Transat Jacques Vabre - 7th
2010: Route du Rhum - 20th