The Spanish favorite Mapfre has won the second and second longest leg of the Volvo Ocean Race: After 19 days, Mapfre was the first team to arrive in Cape Town on 24 November 2017. In the first leg, they crossed the finish line on the second place. Now, Mapfre leads the overall ranking of the Volvo Ocean Race with 14 points.
Favorit Mapfre wins the second longest track in the Volvo Ocean Race, taking over the overall lead
With 7,000 nautical miles, the second leg of the Volvo Ocean Race from Lisbon, Portugal, to Cape Town, South Africa, was the second longest route of the entire race. After 19 days, 1 hour and 10 minutes, the Spanish team Mapfre reached the port of destination in Cape Town as the first team on 24th November at 15:10 UTC. Since the Spaniards finished second in the first leg in Lisbon, they now lead the overall ranking of the race with a total of 14 points.
At that, the Spanish top favorite was forced to sail behind the Dongfeng Race Team from China for the majority of the first half of this leg. However, on the 14th day of the race, the tide turned in favor of the Spaniards: navigator Juan Vila and skipper Xabi Fernandez had opted for a maneuver to the southwest. This enabled Mapfre not only to overtake Dongfeng but also ensured them the lead for the remaining days of the second race.
The winners of Volvo Oceans`s first leg, Team Vestas, arrived in Cape Town as third
After falling back to the fourth place after the Spaniard's maneuver, Dongfeng managed to fight themselves forwards during the last few days. After 19 days, 4 hours and 2 minutes, the Chinese team Dongfeng reached Cape Town about three hours after Mapfre, finishing on the second place. The Danish-American team Vestas 11th Hour Racing, which had won the first leg from Alicante to Lisbon, crossed the finishing line as the third team. The Dutch team Brunel reached the fourth place.
The third leg of the Volvo Ocean Race to Melbourne will start on 10th December
On December 10th, the third leg of the race will start, which will take the teams after 6,500 nautical miles from Cape Town, South Africa, to Melbourne, Australia.