A new victory for MAPFRE in the In-Port Race Series of the Volvo Ocean Race. On Friday, the Spanish team claimed their third in-port victory so far in the race. This is the seventh podium position for Xabi Fernández and his crew of the seven in-port races so far disputed.
© Maria Muiña I MAPFRE
At 14:00 h local time (19:00h in Spain) and with 8-10 knots wind, Itajaí sounded the start gun for the seventh in-port race of the Volvo Ocean Race. MAPFRE made it clear from the very start, that they were out to fight for victory, and Xabi Fernández and his crew made an absolutely brilliant start, enabling them to position themselves at the front of the fleet from the outset. Six legs over a particularly tactical race course which MAPFRE proved they were able to read to perfection.
For the first leg the fleet remained particularly compact, with six teams aiming for the best areas of wind, and in a fight to get the very best from the conditions in each manoeuvre. The Spanish boat, who had aimed for the left side of the race course from the start, made no mistakes in their strategy, and were able to round the first mark in second place, just a boat length from AkzoNobel, who were leading at the beginning of the race.
© Maria Muiña I MAPFRE
However, MAPFRE were swift to move into the lead, and just a few metres before the downwind mark, Xabi Fernández and his crew managed to overtake the Dutch boat, skippered by Simeon Tienpont, and finish the next leg with 14 seconds advantage over AkzoNobel and 38 ahead of Dongfeng, in third.
MAPFRE stayed firm with their lead for the remainder of the race, one eye on the chasing pack, but calm and focussed, and sailing their own race.
With Cantabrian sailor Pablo Arrarte at the helm, the Spanish team continued to extend their lead, until crossing the finish line, 43 seconds ahead of AkzoNobel, in second. One minute and four seconds behind MAPFRE, Charles Caudrelier’s Dongfeng finished the in-port race in third, to complete the podium. Turn The Tide on Plastic were fourth, Brunel fifth and Vestas 11th Hour Racing sixth.
© Maria Muiña I MAPFRE
Once back on shore the Basque skipper explained,
“It was a really good race course and with very good wind. We had a great start and won the pin end of the line which is what we wanted. It was a very short distance and we couldn’t get to the first mark ahead, but downwind we picked up good speed and when we gybed were able to overtake AkzoNobel. From that point it went really well. The crew, as always, were amazing, and we are really happy with the result. It is exactly what we wanted.”
A third victory, 7 podiums in 7 in-port races
The team’s result in Itajaí makes it a third victory for MAPFRE in the In-Port Series. Out of the seven in-port races competed up until now, Xabi Fernández and his crew have kept their place on the podium. Three wins (Alicante, Guangzhou and Itajaí), three seconds (Lisbon, Cape Town and Hong Kong) and a bronze in Auckland.
Their new victory puts MAPFRE back at the very top of the general scoreboard for the In-Port Series with a 5 point advantage over the Chinese team, and 11 points ahead of Simeon Tienpont’s AkzoNobel in provisional third place.
On Saturday the MAPFRE team will have their last day on-shore. The start of Leg eight to Newport (United States), is on Sunday at 14:00h local time (19:00 h in Spain).
MORE QUOTES
Joan Vila, navigator
The upwind leg was short, with quite stable wind, so it was important to position ourselves well and get a good start, so we could sail in clean wind and not make any mistakes. We were gradually able to stretch out our lead, and were able to finish first.
We took the first mark in second, but then on the downwind leg were able to pass the leading boat, and finally managed to minimise our mistakes and get the most out of each of the manoeuvres. It was real team work.
We continue to sail our way, and that is what gives us a little more confidence ahead of the next leg.
IN-PORT RACE CLASSIFICATION ITAJAÍ (BRAZIL)
- MAPFRE (ESP, Xabi Fernández) – 7 points
- Team AkzoNobel (NED, Simeon Tienpont) – 6 points
- Dongfeng Race Team (CHN, Charles Caudrelier) – 5 points
- Turn The Tide on Plastic (Naciones Unidas, Dee Caffari) – 4 points
- Team Brunel (NED, Bouwe Bekking) – 3 points
- Vestas 11th Hour Racing (USA/DEN, Charlie Enright) – 2 points
- Sun Hung Kai Scallywag (HKG, David Witt) – DNS
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION (PROVISIONAL) IN-PORT RACE SERIES
- MAPFRE (ESP, Xabi Fernández), 44 points
- Dongfeng Race Team (CHN, Charles Caudrelier), 39 points
- Team AkzoNobel (NED, Simeon Tienpont), 33 points
- Team Brunel (NED, Bouwe Bekking), 29 points
- Vestas 11th Hour Racing (USA/DEN, Charlie Enright), 18 points
- Turn The Tide on Plastic (Naciones Unidas, Dee Caffari), 15 points
- Sun Hung Kai Scallywag (HKG, David Witt), 15 points
