After two seasons in Class40 under the colours of Zeiss, Timothé Polet (24) is preparing to move up the range, as he launches a new Mach 40.6 designed by Sam Manuard and built by JPS in La Trinité-sur-Mer on Monday 25 November. An opportunity for Tip & Shaft to talk to Nicolas Series, president of Zeiss France, who is committed to working alongside the Norman sailor until the end of 2026.
▶︎ Can you tell us about Zeiss?
Zeiss is a German group founded in Jena in 1846 by Carl Zeiss, whose original product was a microscope. Today, it employs 43,000 people worldwide and generates sales of €11 billion, operating in four main business segments: the largest is the manufacture of semiconductor technologies, then an industry, quality and research division, which includes microscopy and metrology, a medical division (ophthalmology, dentistry, ENT and oncology) and a consumer division, the smallest, with optical products. The French subsidiary employs around 1,000 people and generates sales of €270 million.
▶︎ Why have you invested in sailing in 2023 with Timothé Polet?
The story began around fifteen years ago, when Zeiss sponsored the Carl Zeiss Optique Voile event in Lorient, a regatta for optics professionals. Personally, I’ve always had a strong interest in sailing – I trained at La Trinité-sur-Mer in 420s and Hobie Cat 16s before going cruising – but I’d never taken the plunge professionally. When Timothé contacted me via Linkedin two years ago, I was initially attracted by the fact that he was a student at the Grenoble School of Management, which I had also attended. He then showed great perseverance and persuasiveness in presenting his project to me, which I found particularly clear, with three axes: performance, sustainability and social responsibility. At Zeiss France, we’re very committed to apprenticeships, to giving young people a foot in the door so that they can succeed professionally, and Timothé’s project resonated with this aspect. So I asked him to present his project to the management committee, and he got the backing of the teams. What’s more, in competitive sailing there are a lot of insurers and mutual insurance companies, as well as medical professionals such as IBSA and Biotherm, all players with whom we have a lot of interaction, so it was interesting to integrate a sport in which our ecosystem was present.
▶︎ We can imagine this wasn’t the first time you’d received a sponsorship application, so why did you say yes this time?
We’re obviously over-subscribed, but what made the difference was that Timothé was good, he managed to whet my curiosity and he convinced me. Sponsorship is all about alchemy, in other words, at some point you believe in it, you trust the person. Today, we’re very happy at Zeiss to give Timothé his chance, but we’re doing it first and foremost for our company, for our brand, of which he is a true ambassador: he’s always dressed in Zeiss, he passes on Zeiss information, he knows the history of the company, he comes on site to sales seminars, including with his boat, he really plays the game, and for me, that’s something fundamental. It’s Zeiss that pays, but the quid pro quo is that the sailor who is given the opportunity to fulfil his dream must convey the image of the sponsor, we’re not here for charity.
“We are now waiting
higher results”
▶︎ What are your expectations in terms of spin-offs? Have you been able to measure them in the two years you’ve been working with Timothé?
Communication about the brand has had relatively little impact on the general public. Let’s face it, there are a huge number of yachts out there and we’re in one of the smallest classes, so the brand’s visibility with the general public is a bit drowned out, even if, because of the different histories and career paths of the skippers, Class40s seem to be more in the spotlight these days. On the other hand, in terms of B2B, it gives us the opportunity to communicate with our community on our social networks throughout the different stages of the project. It also gives us the opportunity to get our customers sailing and invite them to the start of the races. The atmosphere is so extraordinary that the experience is great every time, and it strengthens the links between them and the brand.
▶︎ You’re launching a new boat on November 25, does that mean your sporting ambitions are on the up?
That’s an excellent question! Thanks to the money from Zeiss, Timothé is building an excellent boat, so yes, we’re now expecting better results. Last year, he finished in the middle of the table in the Transat Jacques Vabre (21st), so we were very happy for a first experience with a 23 year old skipper, but it’s clear that we’re now expecting the project to focus on performance. For him, but also for the dynamic we want for a company like ours, which is fighting to win market share in a very tough competitive environment. It’s the same for Timothé, who is up against other very good skippers who are also fighting to succeed. But you can’t win without giving yourself the means to do so, so you need to have a good boat, train hard and be focused on the goal. It’s a very important mindset, the one we’re asking of our sales teams, but also of our young skipper. After that, let’s be very clear, if he doesn’t perform, he won’t be crucified in the public arena, especially as there’s one important thing, and that’s that it’s not about performance to the detriment of safety, we don’t want him to take insane risks to please the sponsor. We want professional performance.
▶︎ What budget are you allocating to this project and are you committed to sailing for the long term?
The annual budget is 600,000 euros per year, excluding our promotional activities. For the moment, we have an agreement that runs until the Route du Rhum 2026. I’d like us to be in it for the long haul, but given our size – we’re a subsidiary – it’s already a big commitment. What’s certain is that we won’t be going into the Imoca class, because the budgets are monstrous, at least five times ours at the moment, and we won’t be diluting ourselves with other partners either. But today, it’s too early to talk about a possible continuation.
Still a student, Timothé Polet has integrated his project into the Le Havre-based Water & Technology Factory owned by Cédric Chateau which also includes Guillaume Pirouelle’s Class40 Seafrigo Sogestran. “It allows us to pool certain expenses, such as préparateurs and communication, but also to think together about the performance aspect,” comments the skipper. So he opted for a Mach 40.6 designed by Sam Manuard. “As it was a first build for me and given Cédric’s experience with the Mach 40.5, it was the best solution, especially as we’re relying on a yard that‘s easy to work with. We were also able to take advantage of feedback from Quentin Le Nabour and Greg Leonard’s first two Mach 6s to make adjustments.”
Photo: Vincent RUSTUEL/Team ZEISS
