Louis Burton FR
BUREAU VALLÉE

Year of birth : 1985

Presentation

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 acquisition of L'Occitane en Provence, an IMOCA raced by Armel Tripon in this 9th Vendée Globe, to become Bureau Vallée 3. 

Nautical CV

  • 2021: Défi Azimut - 4th
  • 2021: The Ocean Race Europe - 5th
  • 2020-21: Vendée Globe - 3rd (80d 10h 25m 12s)
  • 2019: Transat Jacques Vabre - 10th
  • 2019: Défi Azimut - 10th
  • 2019: Rolex Fastnet Race - 4th
  • 2018: Route du Rhum - Retired
  • 2018: Monaco Globe series - 8th
  • 2018: Bermuda 1000 race - Retired
  • 2017: Transat Jacques Vabre - 7th
  • 2017: 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 
  • 2011: Transat Jacques Vabre - 7th 
  • 2010: Route du Rhum - 20th 

The boat

Name : BUREAU VALLÉE

Sponsors

BUREAU VALLÉE