Volvo Ocean Race: The Fat Lady Has Sung

Gothenburg, Sweden (June 27, 2015) – In what began last October, when the seven Volvo Ocean Race teams competed in the first In-Port Race in Alicante, the 2014-15 edition came to a close today when Team Brunel (Bouwe Bekking/NED) emerged victorious in the final act in the Inmarsat In-Port Race Gothenburg.

Behind him there was major drama in a race for connoisseurs of in-shore racing as MAPFRE (Iker Martínez/ESP) outwitted Team Alvimedica (Charlie Enright/USA) in the final few moments of an intriguing race.

By pushing the Turkish/American boat wide to allow Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier/FRA) to slip in ahead of them, MAPFRE ensured that they broke the tie for fourth place on countback overall, which they were sharing with Team Alvimedica after nine months’ gruelling racing.

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker/GBR) earned the six points they needed to win the overall In-Port Race series by edging out last-placed Team Vestas Wind (Chris Nicholson/AUS), who have suffered in the shorter races after re-joining the event in Lisbon.

They finished just one point clear of Team Brunel in the standings.

On Monday, Ian Walker’s crew had claimed the overall offshore trophy – the main event – with five points to spare, also from the Dutch crew. With the In-Port Series win, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing completes the sweep of the 2014-15 edition.

Team SCA (Sam Davies/GBR) sailed a canny race today to claim second place in the Inmarsat In-Port Race Gothenburg, and with it the third place on the podium for the in-port series, behind Ian Walker’s crew and Team Brunel.

Best Navigator: Simon ‘SiFi’ Fisher, Navigator for Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing won the B&G Navigators’ Prize for the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15. The award is presented to the Navigator who made the most effective use of meteorological, oceanographic and geographical information to gain distance on the majority of the fleet, as voted for by the Navigators themselves. Full report.

Best Reporter: Matt Knighton of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing won the Inmarsat Onboard Reporter (OBR) Award for the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15. A jury of industry experts judged the OBRs on creativity, quality and story-telling; runners-up were Amory Ross (Team Alvimedica) and Sam Greenfield (Dongfeng Race Team). Full report.

Final Results: Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 (9 legs)
1. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (UAE), 1 -3 -2 -2 -1 -2 -5 -3 -5, 24 points
2. Team Brunel (NED), 3 -1 -5 -5 -4 -3 -1 -5 -2, 29
3. Dongfeng Race Team (CHN), 2 -2 -1 -3 -8 -1 -4 -7 -4, 33*
4. MAPRE (ESP), 7 -4 -4 -1 -2 -4 -2 -4 -3, 34*
5. Team Alvimedica (TUR/USA), 5 -4 -3 -4 -3 -5 -3 -6 -1, 34
6. Team SCA (SWE), 6 -6 -6 -6 -5 -6 -6 -1 -7, 51*
7. Team Vestas Wind (DNK), 4 -8 -8 -8 -8 -8 -8 -2 -6, 60
* scoring penalties

Final Results: In-Port Series 2014-15 (10 races)
1. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, Ian Walker (GBR), 2 -1 -3 -2 -6 -2 -3 -2 -4 -6, 31
2. Team Brunel, Bouwe Bekking (NED), 4 -2 -2 -4 -2 -1 -5 -5 -6 -1, 32
3. Team SCA, Sam Davies (GBR), 6 -3 -1 -5 -1 -4 -4 -4 -5 -2, 35
4. MAPFRE, Iker Martínez (ESP), 3 -7 -6 -6 -3 -5 -1 -1 -2 -3, 37
5. Team Alvimedica, Charlie Enright (USA), 1 -6 -5 -3 -5 -6 -2 -3 -1 -5, 37
6. Dongfeng Race Team, Charles Caudrelier (FRA), 5 -4 -4 -1 -4 -3 -6 -6 -3 -4, 40
7. Team Vestas Wind, Chris Nicholson (AUS), 7 -5 -8 -8 -8 -8 -8 -7 -7 -7, 73

Race website – Tracking – Scoreboard – Videos

Background: The 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race began in Alicante, Spain on Oct. 11, covering 38,739 nm on the way to the final In-Port Race on June 27 in Gothenburg, Sweden. Racing the new one design Volvo Ocean 65, seven teams scored points in 9 offshore legs to determine the overall Volvo Ocean Race winner. Additionally, the teams competed in 10 In-Port races at each stopover for a separate competition, the Volvo Ocean Race In-Port Series. Click here for recap of offshore legs.