Groupama sailing team claimed victory by less than one minute in the second stage of Leg 2 after edging out overall leg winners Team Telefónica in a nailbiting finish in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
The French challengers closed the gap with Telefónica to two boat lengths within 20 nautical miles of the finish during the fast-paced 98 nautical mile drag race from the Sharjah coastline, before clinching the lead with slick manoeuvres at the final mark rounding.
Franck Cammas' men surged to victory in a 20 knot northwest breeze and big swell at 1222.09 UTC, finishing just 52 seconds ahead of Telefónica.
Groupama scored six points to add to the 12 they scored for finishing fourth in stage one of the leg that was split in to two stages by race organisers because of the increasing threat of pirates. The French team remain third on the overall leaderboard with 42 points and Telefónica hold poll position with 66 points.
From : Volvo Ocean race
The French challengers closed the gap with Telefónica to two boat lengths within 20 nautical miles of the finish during the fast-paced 98 nautical mile drag race from the Sharjah coastline, before clinching the lead with slick manoeuvres at the final mark rounding.
Franck Cammas' men surged to victory in a 20 knot northwest breeze and big swell at 1222.09 UTC, finishing just 52 seconds ahead of Telefónica.
Groupama scored six points to add to the 12 they scored for finishing fourth in stage one of the leg that was split in to two stages by race organisers because of the increasing threat of pirates. The French team remain third on the overall leaderboard with 42 points and Telefónica hold poll position with 66 points.
From : Volvo Ocean race
