VOR BREAKING
UPDATE – Statement from AkzoNobel:
Following a breach of contract Simeon Tienpont left his role as skipper of team AkzoNobel in the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race on Friday, October 13, 2017. AkzoNobel, the owner and title partner of team AkzoNobel, has confirmed it’s fully committed to the team competing in the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race. An announcement confirming who will take over the skipper role will be made shortly.
The jury is definitely still out on whether Simeon breached his contract with Akzo, or Akzo breached their contract with Simeon, and there are undoubtedly lawyers somewhere billing a lot of hours on this one. We’ve also learned that Simeon’s crew will take the AZ on the water tomorrow without him…
Two time VOR racer and America’s Cup winner Simeon Tienpont was the first in with the only brand-new VO65 in the race, but weeks of rumors that his job was on the rocks have crescendoed today with the first In-Port Race on the air tomorrow. While Tom Ehman (now the second person in the world to bother breaking VOR news) reported a few minutes ago that Simeon’s been excused from further duties with the team, we’ve heard from several sources that the decision hasn’t been made yet and that the Dutchman may still salvage the situation…with about 16 hours to go until tomorrow’s race.
No one will talk on the record so there’s just one way to find out what’s happening. Tune in tomorrow as the 2017 VOR shitshow begins!
