Volvo Ocean Race - Dongfeng fourth in Cape Town In-Port Race
by Dongfeng Race Team on 16 Nov 2014
Volvo Ocean Race Practice Race in Cape Town: Dongfeng Race Team Ainhoa Sanchez/Volvo Ocean Race
Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15, Cape Town In-Port Race.
'Getting off to a good start during these in-port races will count for 90% of the performance. Today it almost counted for 100%.' – Thierry Peponnet, Dongfeng Race Team Coach.
In-port race results:
1st: Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing
2nd: Team Brunel
3rd: Team SCA
4th: Dongfeng Race Team
5th: Team Vestas Wind
6th: Team Alvimedica
7th: MAPFRE
Today we came fourth in the in-port race in Cape Town. The good news? It’s one place up from the Alicante in-port race. The bad news? One place away from being on the podium.
With what were described as ‘puffy’ conditions (meaning one side of the start line had15-20 knots and the other had 8-10 knots) in Cape Town, the deciding factor for almost all the teams today was the start line. This is where Abu Dhabi won today’s race. Their good start made it almost impossible for the teams behind to catch them up, this and of course the fact they made no mistakes. Had they made any mistakes things might have been different but once again it’s a well-deserved win for Ian Walker and his team.
Now let’s move on to what has been said about Dongfeng’s performance:
'Dongfeng sailed a solid race. They certainly weren’t in the right place to start, Abu Dhabi has a massive gain right from the start but you know what? Dongfeng never slipped back, they always kept up with the leaders and they did some safe, good maneuvers. They also always had the right combination of sails up, they didn’t make any mistakes. Apart from the start… Today the start was the most important thing. Charles and his team sailed a fantastic leg, they made some smart decisions.' – Knut Frostad, Volvo Ocean Race CEO.
It was also an eventful day for Team Alvimedica who ripped their sail (jib) on the beginning of the first upwind stretch, which was a huge disadvantage for them, they finished sixth. After two major crew changes after leg 1 it’s clear that the most disappointed team from today’s in-port is MAPFRE, it’s not clear whether the Spanish team were sandbagging today or whether their bad start was just too much to come back from. However there is no doubt that there are some excellent sailors on that team and in the words of Knut Frostad 'This team will come back stronger, there is no
Dongfeng Race Team website
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