{"id":66370,"date":"2018-05-29T21:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-05-30T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/?p=66370"},"modified":"2023-05-16T15:58:21","modified_gmt":"2023-05-16T19:58:21","slug":"team-brunel-continues-late-charge-to-the-vor-podium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/racing\/team-brunel-continues-late-charge-to-the-vor-podium\/","title":{"rendered":"Team Brunel Continues Late Charge to the VOR Podium"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Leg 9 results also mean a new team is at the top of the race leaderboard as Dongfeng Race Team, with a third-place finish, take overall race honors by just a single point over Mapfre<\/a>, who settled for a disappointing fifth place finish on the transatlantic leg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the win, Bekking\u2019s Brunel is just three points off the lead, meaning the final two European legs will be more important than ever. Although Brunel sits in third place this morning, the Dutch entry is riding a wave of momentum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Peter <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

Leg 9, from Newport to Cardiff, day 7 on board Brunel. Peter Burling at the helm. 25 May, 2018.<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\n
\n Helmsman Peter Burling redlining the Volvo Ocean 65 on May 25 during the Volvo Ocean Race\u2019s Leg 9, from Newport, Rhode Island to Cardiff, Wales.<\/span>\n Sam Greenfield\/Volvo Ocean Race<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

Since the team hit a low point at the conclusion of Leg 6 after arriving in Auckland with a sixth-place finish, Bekking and crew have posted a 1-2-1 scoreline, including important wins on the final two double-point scoring legs, to move from also-ran status on the leaderboard to holding down a firm grip on a podium position with an eye on the top spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very happy with the result \u2013 to beat the two red boats (Dongfeng and Mapfre) was the objective,\u201d Bekking said after crossing the finish line. \u201cWinning of course is nice, as well as to get the bonus point and then a nice fight to beat AkzoNobel in the end as well, so we\u2019re a happy team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut the aim is to keep looking forward. We\u2019ve closed the gap to Mapfre and Dongfeng and victory remains our main objective.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To earn the leg win, Bekking had to fend off fellow Dutch skipper Simeon Tienpont\u2019s team AkzoNobel, who had held a nominal lead of a few hundred meters just hours before the finish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in the strong currents and light winds of the Bristol Channel, Bekking and his crew found a way to claw back in front and then protected over the final miles to take the win by just 4 minutes and 05 seconds over team AkzoNobel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"AkzoNobel <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

Leg 9, from Newport to Cardiff, arrivals. 29 May, 2018.<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\n
\n After finishing second in Cardiff, Wales, AkzoNobel\u2019s crew make note of the blistering 24-hour race record<\/span>\n Jesus Renedo\/Volvo Ocean Race<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

For Tienpont’s AkzoNobel, Leg 9 will be long remembered for the amazing record-breaking effort the team made in setting a new standard for 24-hour distance run in the Volvo Ocean Race<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Friday, in ideal conditions, the team AkzoNobel crew obliterated the previous race record set in a Volvo Ocean 70 by Ericsson 4 in 2008. The new mark is a 602.51 nautical mile, 24-hour run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis was an incredible race,\u201d Tienpont said from on board at the finish line. \u201cI\u2019m unbelievably proud of the crew. We kept pushing all the way to the finish line and we\u2019re happy with second place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe enjoyed setting a record that hopefully will be hard to beat. It\u2019s been a leg full of emotions and we\u2019re looking forward to the last two legs. We\u2019ve done unbelievably well since Melbourne. From there onwards we\u2019ve scored more points than Mapfre and Dongfeng. So the confidence is there and as a crew we\u2019re enjoying it so much. We\u2019ll just keep fighting and do what we did on this leg.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dongfeng Race Team skipper Charles Caudrelier has elevated his team to the top of the race leaderboard for the second time since the start of the race. With a sixth podium finish the most consistent team in the race controls its own destiny at the head of the fleet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nice, but it\u2019s a very small lead to Mapfre and now Brunel as well who are making a fantastic comeback,\u201d Caudrelier said dockside after the finish. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be interesting for fans to follow as the race is far from finished. The level is very even and it\u2019s a big fight for every place\u2026 we would have preferred an easier finish.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Brunel has been ascendant on the last three legs and Dongfeng consistently among the leaders, MAPFRE roared out to a fast start in the opening legs but has struggled of late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even on the recent leg into Newport, which was scored a win, the Spanish team trailed for nearly all of the leg, making a miraculous comeback from fifth to first in the final 24 hours. The team will need to regain its early form if it is to make one more comeback and win the race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt hasn\u2019t been an easy leg for us. It\u2019s been painful from day one and we never could catch up,\u201d said skipper Xabi Fern\u00e1ndez. \u201cBut looking forward we feel confident. Hopefully we can start well and fight boat to boat over the next two legs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scoring a fourth-place finish on the leg was Charlie Enright\u2019s Vestas 11th Hour Racing. The team has prided itself on its podium finishes, but this leg marks its worst result across the finish line in the race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, having missed three crucial legs in the middle of the race, the team\u2019s position on the overall leaderboard is all but locked in at fifth place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was a disappointing leg from a results standpoint, but that doesn\u2019t take away from what was a good crossing for the team,\u201d Enright said. \u201cWe\u2019ve overcome a lot more than just a bad result in this race and now we have two legs left to put our best foot forward and end on a good note.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Volvo Ocean Race Projected Leaderboard after Leg 9<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Dongfeng Race Team \u2013 60 points<\/li>
  2. MAPFRE \u2013 59 points<\/li>
  3. Team Brunel \u2013 57 points<\/li>
  4. Team AkzoNobel \u2013 48 points<\/li>
  5. Vestas 11th Hour Racing \u2013 36 points<\/li>
  6. SHK \/ Scallywag \u2013 29 points<\/li>
  7. Turn the Tide on Plastic \u2013 26 points<\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The Leg 9 results also mean a new team is at the top of the race leaderboard as Dongfeng Race Team, with a third-place finish, take overall race honors by just a single point over Mapfre, who settled for a disappointing fifth place finish on the transatlantic leg. With the win, Bekking\u2019s Brunel is just […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30740,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"Peter Rusch\/Volvo Ocean Race","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"20180529","hydra_display_updated":false,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"159","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"The top three teams in the Volvo Ocean Race are within three points after Bouwe Bekking\u2019s Team Brunel won Leg 9 into Cardiff, Wales to vault into contention for the overall race win.","_yoast_wpseo_title":"Team Brunel Continues Late Charge to the VOR Podium %%sep%% %%sitename%%","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","arc_story_id":"V5NM5OBCSDI6FMZUYVK2AV34GA","arc_website_url":"team-brunel-continues-late-charge-to-vor-podium\/","custom_permalink":"","arc_subtype":"right-sidebar","arc_exclude_from_feeds":false,"sponsored":false,"sponsored_label":"Sponsored Content","sponsored_display_label":false,"sponsored_image":false,"post_right_rail":true,"post_right_rail_ad_1":true,"post_right_rail_ad_2":true,"post_right_rail_ad_3":false,"post_right_rail_ad_4":false,"post_right_rail_recirc":true,"fixed_anchor_ad":true,"post_top_ad":true,"post_off_ramp":true,"post_taboola":false,"labels":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":"","ad_targeting":"","ad_settings_ads_on_this_page":true,"ad_settings_automatic_ad_injection_into_the_content":true,"sponsored_url":"","social_share":true},"categories":[159],"tags":[951,723,178,413,785,304],"class_list":["post-66370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-racing","tag-dongfeng-race-team","tag-peter-burling","tag-sailboat-racing","tag-team-akzonobel","tag-team-brunel","tag-volvo-ocean-race"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66370"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66370\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}