Volvo Ocean Race: MAPFRE Wins Leg 3, Dongfeng Second

(December 24, 2017; Leg 3, Day 15) – MAPFRE has won Leg 3 of the Volvo Ocean Race, arriving overnight Christmas Eve into Melbourne.

The Spanish Volvo Ocean Race team MAPFRE has won Leg 3 from Cape Town, South Africa to Melbourne, Australia, a 6,500 nautical mile dive into the fierce challenges of the Southern Ocean.

For the second consecutive leg, MAPFRE needed to come from behind to earn the victory. And for the second time in a row, it was Dongfeng Race Team they passed mid-stage, to snatch victory.

Dongfeng Race Team was able to fend off a late charge by Vestas 11th Hour Racing and Team Brunel to secure a second place finish on Leg 3 of the Volvo Ocean Race from Cape Town, South Africa to Melbourne, Australia.

It’s the second consecutive second place finish for skipper Charles Caudrelier’s team and this one will be bittersweet. The team led for much of this hard Southern Ocean leg and were disappointed to see MAPFRE make a pass to take the win.

But with just one day left to the finish, Dongfeng suffered damage to its keel system and Caudrelier was suddenly looking over his shoulder at Vestas 11th Hour Racing and Team Brunel.

At one point, the Vestas squad posted in second place on distance to finish, but with his boat fixed and the wind returning, Caudrelier and his crew were able to lock down second place and an important 12 points on this double point scoring leg.

“This was the toughest leg I’ve ever done,” Caudrelier said. “We had this big fight with MAPFRE for most of the race and then a big problem on board just before the finish. A crazy section of gybing around the ice limits, it was a very, very difficult leg.

“We’re a bit disappointed after leading 80 per-cent of the time to give first place to MAPFRE, but there are more legs to come and we will do better.

“They have a small advantage in terms of points and we know they don’t make many mistakes, so each point is important.”

MAPFRE started Leg 3 already atop the leaderboard, with a one point lead over Leg 1 winner Vestas 11th Hour Racing. But as this first Southern Ocean challenge is worth double points, the team will now open up a more comfortable margin, at least six points, depending on the finishing position of the chasing boats.

The second place finish will move Dongfeng Race Team up to second place on the overall leaderboard, likely equal on points with Vestas 11th Hour Racing (assuming they finish third).

Vestas 11th Hour Racing and Team Brunel are expected to finish in third and fourth place over the coming hours, while the rest of the fleet is over 24 hours away still. Scallywag and Turn the Tide are expected to finish on Christmas Day (UTC); and AkzoNobel on December 27.

To see Leg 3 crew lists… click here.

Race details – Tracker – Scoreboard – Race route – Facebook – YouTube

Leg 3 – Position Report (21:15 UTC)
1. MAPFRE (ESP), Xabi Fernández (ESP), Finished, Elapsed Time 14d 04:07:21
2. Dongfeng Race Team (CHN), Charles Caudrelier (FRA), Finished, Elapsed Time 14d 08:10:16
3. Vestas 11th Hour Racing (DEN/USA), Charlie Enright (USA), 13.3 nm DTF
4. Team Brunel (NED), Bouwe Bekking (NED), 13.1 nm DTL
5. Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag (HKG), David Witt (AUS), 257.9 nm DTL
6. Turn the Tide on Plastic (POR), Dee Caffari (GBR), 301.4 nm DTL
7. Team AkzoNobel (NED), Simeon Tienpont (NED), 601.7 nm DTL
DTF – Distance to Finish; DTL – Distance to Leader

Overall Results (after 2 of 11 legs)
1. MAPFRE (ESP), Xabi Fernández (ESP), 14 points
2. Vestas 11th Hour Racing (DEN/USA), Charlie Enright (USA), 13
3. Dongfeng Race Team (CHN), Charles Caudrelier (FRA), 11
4. Team AkzoNobel (NED), Simeon Tienpont (NED), 7
5. Team Brunel (NED), Bouwe Bekking (NED), 6
6. Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag (HKG), David Witt (AUS), 5
7. Turn the Tide on Plastic (POR), Dee Caffari (GBR), 2

2017-18 Edition: Entered Teams – Skippers
• Team AkzoNobel (NED), Simeon Tienpont (NED)
• Dongfeng Race Team (CHN), Charles Caudrelier (FRA)
• MAPFRE (ESP), Xabi Fernández (ESP)
• Vestas 11th Hour Racing (DEN/USA), Charlie Enright (USA)
• Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag (HKG), David Witt (AUS)
• Turn the Tide on Plastic (POR), Dee Caffari (GBR)
• Team Brunel (NED), Bouwe Bekking (NED)

Background: Racing the one design Volvo Ocean 65, the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race begins in Alicante, Spain on October 22 2017 with the final finish in The Hague, Netherlands on June 30 2018. In total, the 11-leg race will visit 12 cities in six continents: Alicante, Lisbon, Cape Town, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Auckland, Itajaí, Newport, Cardiff, Gothenburg, and The Hague. A maximum of eight teams will compete.

Source: Volvo Ocean Race