Four different in-port race winners and three different leg winners for the first time in Volvo Ocean Race history as Dongfeng Race Team secured first place in the Team Vestas Wind in-port race today in Sanya, China, delighting the home crowd. It’s the icing on the cake for the team racing for China who tomorrow set sail on a 6,000 nautical mile journey from Sanya to Auckland for leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race.
Credit : A Sanchez
Caudrelier was under inevitable pressure to do China proud once more today as Dongfeng Race Team participated in the short in-port race circuit in the bay of Sanya. Although the in-port races do not contribute to the overall scoring of the race, they have the same low point scoring system. So, in the event of a tie at the end of the race, it will be the team who have the least number of points for the in-port races that will gain overall victory. Certain teams consider them less important than others but at the end of the day this race is becoming so close, it could make the difference in Gothenburg.
“Winning the leg was more than we would have ever imagined and winning the in-port race really is the icing on the cake. I truly believe we can say we have done China proud,” said Team Director, Bruno Dubois.
It’s not always easy to manage expectations – sometimes we struggle to manage our own, on days like this it’s so easy to run away with ourselves but the truth is there is such a long way to go and we only have to look at what happened last race to bring ourselves back down to earth. Leg 4 is going to be tough and the first few days are going to be rough and anything can happen. It would be foolish to assume anything at this point of the race.
That said, it would also be foolish not to recognise that Charles Caudrelier and his team have come a long way. “Today was really a team game, everyone has been awesome. We had a problem at one point, we could have lost a lot and I’m so proud of the guys, they reacted so well and quickly, stayed calm,” explains Caudrelier. “It’s a big improvement – I’m very happy because we have worked a lot to be better in the in-port races. I would like to thank Thierry Peponnet our coach, if we’re here today it’s because of him.”
“I am happy we won but tomorrow we have a new leg and we have to stay focused on that. That’s the problem with this race, you can be happy but in an hour the stress will come back. Now I have a briefing for the next leg so my goal is to stay focused on that.”
Credit : V Fraile
News and Results : Et de deux à Sanya pour Charles Caudrelier et ses hommes !
From Dongfeng
