With one dismasting now drifting into the distance and with a sexy new 75ft trimaran currently in-build, Ellen MacArthur has received yet another boost with the announcement that Renault UK are to be the official vehicle supplier to Offshore Challenges.

The fact that Ellen, pictured above, was herself at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone trying the Renault F1 support car on for size leads one to imagine that the working relationship between Offshore Challenges and Renault UK will be taken to another level.

The car manufacturer comes on board as the 21st official partner to Offshore Challenges, based in Cowes.

Not only will the round the world solo yachtswoman benefit from the alliance but so will Nick Moloney and the recently welcomed Sam Davies, from Southampton.

Renault UK is already a leading player in the world of Formula One motorsport and an association with the OC Sailing Team brings together two sports that run at the leading edge of technology.

Both the Formula One Grand Prix cars and the Grand Prix-style yachts used by the OC Sailing Team are made using similar materials and components, such as the light and strong carbon. Wind tunnel testing is also used extensively by both sports.

MacArthur met the Renault team drivers Jarno Trulli and Fernando Alonso as well as Philippe Talou-Derible, Renault UK managing director, and F1 technical director, Mike Gascoyne at the Silverstone track last weekend.

It was suggested that there could be scope for shared technological efforts of both sports and the possibility of working together on a technical front in the future.

The Cowes based sailor obviously left a huge impression on managing director Philippe Talou-Derible, who said: "The challenges Ellen and her team set for themselves are also to be the best at what they do and if that means looking beyond the conventional then that's what they'll do.

"I think what Ellen and her team achieve and what we have achieved with New Espace shows we share the same challenging spirit and I'm delighted Renault is their choice of vehicle during their time on land."

Ellen had the opportunity to sit inside the spare F1 car just moments before the start of the Grand Prix, commenting: "It is pretty compact in the drivers' cockpit - even for someone like me - and in stark contrast to the new Renault Espace's that we are driving."