DMG MORI Sailing Academy starts the 2025 season with global collaboration
At the 39th edition of the Mini Fastnet in Douarnenez, the DMG MORI Sailing Academy successfully achieved a podium finish with 3rd place and a great 7th place with two two-handed teams at the start. It was the first time that a trainee from the French site and a trainee from the Japanese site of the Academy sailed together.
The Mini Fastnet is a 600-mile race from Douarnenez to Fastnet Rock in Ireland and back. Hajime Kokumai sailed with Kodai Endo in the 1046 DMG MORI. Kodai is a trainee at the Japanese site of the DMG MORI Sailing Academy and a student at Tokyo University. Alexandre Demanges sailed in the 1048 DMG MORI together with co-skipper Koki Sawada, who also trains at the Japanese site. It was his first race in France. Both teams put in an impressive performance. 1046 DMG MORI finished in 7th place, while 1048 DMG MORI finished in 3rd place.
The Mini Transat 2025 was an exciting step towards deepening cross-cultural cooperation and connections in the DMG MORI Sailing Team through its new team pairing with trainees from Japan together with the French team in the offshore double-handed competition.
Mini skippers Hajime Kokumai and Alexandre Demange have both been part of the DMG MORI Sailing Academy since 2022, when the junior programme was launched. Back then, they started out as co-skippers. In April 2024, the DMG MORI Sailing team welcomed three trainees to Japan, including Kodai Endo and Koki Sawada. At the harbour of Hayama, Kanagawa Prefecture, the trainee team is coached by ocean sailor Masatomo Suzuki, who successfully completed the Mini Transat 2019 and the Globe 40 round-the-world races of Class 40 2023.
Season to date
There have already been a few races worth mentioning this season:
- Mini en Mai: Alexandre led the race until shortly before the end, but ended up in 2nd place, just a few minutes behind the winner. Hajime unfortunately had to retire due to damage to his boat.
- Alexandre took second place at the Pornichet Select this month. Hajime did not take part here.
- Laure finished 7th in the Transat Paprec together with Kevin Bloch. This was their first transatlantic race in the Figaro Class.
- PLM in April: Second place for Alexandre and Thais Le Cam and fifth place for Hajime and Susanne Beucke.
About the DMG MORI Sailing Team
Founded in 2018, the DMG MORI Sailing Team is a professional offshore racing team based in Lorient, France. Japanese skipper Kojiro Shiraishi and the crew have successfully mastered the Vendée Globe 2020 and 2024, which is considered the toughest race in the world. With the DMG MORI Sailing Academy, which was founded in 2022, young talents are empowered to work in offshore sailing and develop their skills as part of the DMG MORI Sailing Team.
About DMG MORI
DMG MORI is a leading global manufacturer of high-precision machine tools and is represented in 44 countries – with 116 sales and service locations, including 17 production plants. In the “Global One Company”, more than 13,000 employees are driving the development of holistic solutions in the manufacturing industry. Our portfolio covers sustainable manufacturing solutions based on the technologies Turning, Milling, Grinding, Boring as well as Ultrasonic, Lasertec and Additive Manufacturing. With technology integration, end-to-end automation and digitization solutions we make it possible to increase productivity and resource efficiency at the same time.