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Telefonica takes Volvo victory in Sanya
Source: Agencies |
February 19, 2012, Sunday
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RACE leader Telefonica of Spain stamped its dominance on the Volvo Ocean Race by winning yesterday's in-port race in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, despite having spent the previous two days changing the boat's entire rigging.
World sailor of the year Iker Martinez and his crew were forced to sit out practice races on Thursday and Friday while his shore team hastily replaced their rigging after they found it failed to reach the correct tension.
With Leg 4 to Auckland in New Zealand approaching, amid forecast gale-force winds and 30-foot waves, Martinez said the team could not afford to take any chances with its rigging, so decided on the eleventh-hour switch.
Such a late switch would have left most boats satisfied with a podium finish but the Spanish crew produced a near-perfect tactical race to beat Puma into second spot.
Puma skipper Ken Read briefly threatened victory when Telefonica fumbled a sail change but the Spanish retained a three-second lead before finding top gear again to win with a 41-second advantage.
Abu Dhabi finished third, 4 minutes, 20 seconds adrift of the winner, with Camper/Team New Zealand, Groupama and Team Sanya further adrift.
The result extended Telefonica's lead at the top of the standings to 18 points over Camper/TNZ, after having won the first three of nine ocean legs in the 39,000-nautical mile, nine-month race, which finishes in Galway, Ireland, in July.
World sailor of the year Iker Martinez and his crew were forced to sit out practice races on Thursday and Friday while his shore team hastily replaced their rigging after they found it failed to reach the correct tension.
With Leg 4 to Auckland in New Zealand approaching, amid forecast gale-force winds and 30-foot waves, Martinez said the team could not afford to take any chances with its rigging, so decided on the eleventh-hour switch.
Such a late switch would have left most boats satisfied with a podium finish but the Spanish crew produced a near-perfect tactical race to beat Puma into second spot.
Puma skipper Ken Read briefly threatened victory when Telefonica fumbled a sail change but the Spanish retained a three-second lead before finding top gear again to win with a 41-second advantage.
Abu Dhabi finished third, 4 minutes, 20 seconds adrift of the winner, with Camper/Team New Zealand, Groupama and Team Sanya further adrift.
The result extended Telefonica's lead at the top of the standings to 18 points over Camper/TNZ, after having won the first three of nine ocean legs in the 39,000-nautical mile, nine-month race, which finishes in Galway, Ireland, in July.
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