Abu Dhabi shrugged off seven months of frustration to seal theirfirst offshore victory in a nerve-jarring transatlantic leg fromMiami to Lisbon, while Groupama"s second place finish -- fiveand a half minutes behind after more than 3,500 nautical milesracing -- was enough to take them top of the leaderboard in placeof long-term leaders Telefonica. Groupama spent days snapping at the heels of the Emirati team andwere within a mile of their rivals as they headed up the RiverTagus towards the finish line. Ian Walker"s team defended resolutely, however, matchingtheir rivals gybe for gybe to ensure their first podium finish onan offshore leg would also be their first win, and spark wildcelebrations lit up by a booming firework display. For Groupama, the consolation prize came soon enough, asTelefónica"s finish in fourth place -- behind PUMAOcean Racing powered by BERG in the third podium slot and justahead of CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand -- meant the Frenchteam climb above them. Abu Dhabi, who finished at 21:23:54 UTC, received 30 points forvictory, with Groupama netting 25 after their finish at 21:29:21.PUMA took 20 points, Telefonica 15 and CAMPER 10.
Team Sanya finished sixth to pick up five points. Groupama, skippered by Franck Cammas, now lead Telefónica bythree points overall, with the Spanish team dropping off the leadfor the first time since their victory on Leg 1 from Alicante toCape Town back in November. Four teams remain separated by just 21 points, making it theclosest contest in the 39-year history of the Volvo Ocean Race withjust two offshore legs and three in-port races still to come. The arrival in Lisbon represented a homecoming for Abu Dhabi, whohad a training base in nearby Cascais during the build-up to therace.
"It's incredible -- what a welcome," said Walker, beforehe and Emirati crew member Adil Khalid were chucked into the waterby their team mates. "Do you think you can make the last 10 miles of a race anyharder than that? "It"s one of the most amazing experiences of my sailingcareer, that"s for sure. Mentally, certainly I"mexhausted. It's just such a relief." Abu Dhabi also visited Lisbon in much less happy circumstancesduring Leg 1, after a dismasting within the first few hoursultimately forced them to ship the boat from Lisbon to Cape Town.
While they have notched up three victories in in-port races, andhave a strong chance of winning the series, this is the first timethey have really been able to shine in an offshore leg. First Groupama and then Telefónica enjoyed the lead for longspells on a leg that started out looking like a fast, direct sprintacross the Atlantic before the effects of Tropical Storm Albertoaltered things drastically. One by one, the boats were forced to head ever further northtowards the ice exclusion zone. Abu Dhabi moved into the lead on Day 6 and after brieflysurrendering it to CAMPER they were back ahead the following day. Two days later they were clear, though skipper Ian Walker warnedrepeatedly that a light-air zone inside the final 300 nauticalmiles would see the fleet compress.
That"s exactly how it turned out, with Abu Dhabi forced toscrap every step of the way to an emotional victory at theteam"s second home. "It came down to the wire, and we certainly had our ups anddowns, but we are very happy," said Groupama skipper FranckCammas. "it was a good operation for us!" Third place for PUMA kept them in contention for the overall lead,12 points behind new leaders Groupama. "This is a great result," said the team's Americanskipper Ken Read. "There"s still a lot of points on theboard and to be on the podium is a big deal for us." The battle between Telefónica and CAMPER for fourth andfifth came down to a slow-motion tussle over an excruciating finalfew miles, with no breeze and the current against them.
Telefónica eventually finished with an advantage of 102seconds and less than a boat length for a five-point boost thatcould yet prove crucial. The action resumes with the In-Port Race on June 9, followed by thestart of Leg 8 to Lorient the following day. Leg 7 results: 1. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing – 11d, 04h, 23m, 54s 2. Groupama sailing team – 11d, 04h, 29m, 21s 3.
PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG – 11d, 06h, 26m, 52s 4. Team Telefónica – 11d, 08h, 28m, 27s 5. CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand – 11d, 08h, 30m, 09s 6. Team Sanya – 11d, 08h, 44m, 25s See Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 images : Sophie Luther Last Updated ( Friday, 01 June 2012 ). I am an expert from Alkyl, usually analyzes all kind of industries situation, such as mini portable fan , name badge pin.
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