Please select your home edition
Edition
Selden 2020 - LEADERBOARD

Volvo Ocean Race: MAPFRE pulls a "fast" one in Newport

by Peter Rusch 8 May 2018 05:00 PDT 9 May 2018
MAPFRE and Team Brunel - Leg 8 from Itajai to Newport. Arrivals. 08 May, © Jesus Renedo / Volvo Ocean Race

The Spanish team MAPFRE stunned the Volvo Ocean Race fleet on Tuesday morning by stealing a win in Leg 8, with a shocking come-from-behind victory into Newport, Rhode Island.

On Monday, with just 300 miles to go, MAPFRE was in fifth place.

As Tuesday morning dawned, and with the fleet ghosting towards the finish line in extremely light and shifty winds, Xabi Fernández's team was among the leading quartet, battling in slow motion with Team Brunel, Dongfeng Race Team and Vestas 11th Hour Racing.

And even when the leaders were just 500 metres from the finish line, MAPFRE was still trailing Team Brunel as the pair emerged from the fog within sight of the spectators at the Fort Adams Race Village.

But on approach to the final turning mark, MAPFRE picked up a zephyr of wind to sneak past Brunel and claim what just moments earlier would have been seen as a very improbable leg win.

"This is unbelievable," skipper Xabi Fernández admitted moments after crossing the finish line. "I can't be happier. We were always hoping to come back a little bit but to be honest we were not expecting to win this leg, so we're super happy.

"Our hopes were always that there would be a compression so we could catch someone... Last night has been crazy how much everything has closed up and everyone on board did an amazing job."

Bouwe Bekking's Team Brunel, who had been leading for most of the past week after the equator crossing took a well-deserved second place finish.

Dongfeng Race Team, who had been ahead of the fleet on the approach to the east coast overnight Monday night, suffered the cruellest fate over the final miles.

Every break seemed to go against Charles Caudrelier's team and after being in position to claim the leg win, the team had to settle for fourth place with Vestas 11th Hour Racing storming past Caudrelier's crew in the final mile of the leg.

"This leg has had its ups and downs," said Charlie Enright, the skipper of Vesta 11th Hour Racing. "We didn't start great but we feel like we sailed pretty well for the middle two-thirds of the leg... Then with some positive input from some local knowledge, we end up back on the podium which is great."

Newport is a homecoming for Enright and Nick Dana on Vestas 11th Hour Racing as well as Mark Towill who did his college sailing nearby.

"It's awesome here," Enright said. "It's 0600 local time here and the amount of boats out is absurd. The amount of effort put in by Sail Newport and the stopover here is amazing."

The final hours were painful for the exhausted sailors but extraordinary to watch. With the wind nearly shutting down overnight on the approach to Newport, the fleet found itself pushed around by the tide and currents near shore, at times even drifting backwards, away from the finish line.

This meant there was a high degree of uncertainty. Positions were never secure until the finish line was breached by MAPFRE. No one suffered more in the final miles than Dongfeng's Caudrelier.

"We're very disappointed," he said. "We were dreaming about a victory here... But it makes me angry and I will be better on the next one. I am already focussed on the future and I promise Dongfeng will do a fantastic job on the next one."

The shocking win by MAPFRE has a huge impact on the overall race leaderboard where MAPFRE has regained the lead from Dongfeng, and now sits three points clear at the head of the table. Brunel retains the third podium position.

The light winds near the finish resulted in a massive compression in the fleet, all the way back to SHK/Scallywag who were trailing the leaders by over 130 miles just one day ago. But as MAPFRE crossed the finish line on Tuesday morning, David Witt's team was less than 20 miles behind.

Related Articles

Sailors shift focus to The Ocean Race Atlantic
The new transatlantic race connects two iconic cities - New York and Barcelona As The Ocean Race Europe came to a close in Montenegro, sailors and teams started to turn their attention to the next event in The Ocean Race calendar - The Ocean Race Atlantic: New York to Barcelona. Posted on 26 Sep
The Ocean Race Europe 2025: The summer of racing
Biotherm delivered a masterclass - Paprec Arkéa a lesson in consistency This Saturday, after a fiercely contested final race, the second edition of The Ocean Race Europe came to a close. It was a seven-week adventure from Germany to Montenegro, full of twists and turns, resilience, and raw emotion. Posted on 21 Sep
Biotherm takes the win
Spectacular Coastal Race in Boka Bay marks the end of The Ocean Race Europe The Boka Bay Coastal Race was a perfect reflection of this edition of The Ocean Race Europe: spectacular. And as they did over and over again during the past six weeks, it was Paul Meilhat's Biotherm who secured victory. Posted on 20 Sep
The Ocean Race Europe is heading towards its final
All to play for in the final weekend of racing in Boka Bay, Montenegro The Ocean Race Europe 2025 is heading towards its Finale in Boka Bay, Montenegro. With the last points still in play, the final coastal race on Saturday will decide the remaining positions. Posted on 19 Sep
Biotherm win final leg into Montenegro
To seal dominant overall victory in The Ocean Race Europe 2025 Paul Meilhat's French-flagged IMOCA Biotherm has won the fifth and final stage of The Ocean Race Europe - the 1,600-nautical mile leg from Genova, Italy to Boka Bay in Montenegro - and in doing so has confirmed a spectacular overall win. Posted on 15 Sep
The Ocean Race Europe Leg 5 Day 8
The fleet pushes north towards Boka Bay The battle for the podium positions on fifth and final stage of The Ocean Race Europe 2025 looks set to come to an exciting conclusion over the next 24 hours as the top five teams close in on the finish line in Boka Bay in Montenegro. Posted on 14 Sep
The Ocean Race Europe Leg 5 Day 7
Meilhat's Biotherm leads the way on the Road to Boka Bay Paul Meilhat's Biotherm (FRA), the overall leader of The Ocean Race Europe, has now taken the lead on the sixth day of the race's fifth leg from Genova, Italy to Boka Bay in Montenegro. Posted on 13 Sep
The Ocean Race Europe Leg 5 Day 6
Seven miles separate the leading pack on the approach to the eastern waypoint Light winds yesterday afternoon to the south of the Italian island of Sicily has re-shuffled the leading pack in The Ocean Race Europe 2025 and given Swiss entry Team Holcim - PRB the opportunity to stage a spectacular comeback from a distant fifth place. Posted on 12 Sep
The Ocean Race Europe Leg 5 Day 5
No time to rest for the frontrunners as the leading pack faces tricky Mediterranean conditions The top four are set to compress as Team Holcim - PRB in fifth looks for comeback opportunity Posted on 11 Sep
The Ocean Race Europe Leg 5 Day 4
Fast speeds and high stakes in thundery conditions as the fleet approaches Sicily After two days of predominantly light wind sailing and slow progress for the fleet, the top four teams - Paprec Arkéa (FRA), Biotherm (FRA), Allagrande Mapei (ITA), and Team Malizia (GER) - were the first to experience a low pressure weather system. Posted on 10 Sep
Maritimo M50Allen SailingHyde Sails 2024 - One Design