Friday, just after 13:30 local time in Lorient on the coast of Brittany, the battle was fought: Franck Cammas and Groupama won the 8th leg of the Volvo Ocean Race, much to the delight of their compatriots. With the 30 points they have been credited with, they now have a considerable lead in the overall standings and, above all, over Telefonica, who suffered two broken rudders on the final day and thus lost the possible stage win and probably also the overall victory. Camper, who set the race record for the fastest time with 566 miles in second place, and Puma in third place completed the podium. Abu Dhabi followed in 4th place.
"It was a short but very complicated leg," said Franck Cammas, the French sailing hero, while taking a dip in the crowd. "It feels really good, the dream we had 10 months ago became a reality with this victory here." It was a well-deserved reward for his hard work. Bowman Brad Marsh had to board the masthead in the most adverse conditions to clear the jammed main halyard for reefing. Not to mention the ability to jibe a wildly bucking VO70 in 8 winds and darkness without making any mistakes.
It was precisely this manoeuvre that proved to be Telefonica's undoing. After the first rudder break and the incredibly quick change to the spare rudder, the Spaniards had fought their way back to the front in great style before the second rudder also gave up the ghost during a sail change and a gybe. With only one rudder blade, they were forced to sail on towards the finish under reduced sail area.
"Two years of hard work have vanished into thin air in a few minutes," lamented Iker Martinez, Telefonica's visibly frustrated skipper, who also thanked team boss Pedro Campos and the sponsors, knowing that the overall victory, although still mathematically possible, was already pretty utopian, even if they were able to salvage 5th place on this botched stage.
In the overall standings, Groupama is now 23 points ahead of Puma and 28 ahead of Camper and Telefonica. There are still three points up for grabs, namely at the Inport Races in Lorient and Galway and on the final stage to Galway. The top four still have a theoretical chance of overall victory, as hoped for by the organisers, but Groupama now clearly has the best cards.
The race continues in Lorient on Saturday, 30 June with the harbour race and the start of the final stage on Sunday, 1 July, both at 1 pm.
Overall ranking
- Groupama, 219 points
- Puma,196
- Camper, 191
- Telefonica,191
- Abu Dhabi, 122
- Sanya, 39
This article was originally published on 15 June and updated on 16 June
The skippers comment on the 8th stage
