It wasn't a lottery, but it was still a six-pointer for Franck Cammas and his team, who seem to be on a roll at the right time. After the victory in the fresh and windy harbour race and the six points credited for it, the lead over Puma, who finished third behind Camper after a mistake, is now 25 points. Meanwhile, the New Zealanders are in third place in the overall standings, but are probably suffering from a kind of Groupama complex, as they gave away what they thought was a sure victory on the final lap when they misjudged the approach to the finish and had to let the French pass. Telefonica, despite their notorious weaknesses in these short races, still managed 4th place.
So while Groupama looks like the sure winner of the last Volvo Ocean Race with the VO70 yachts, the sprint leg from Lorient to Galway and the final harbour race behind them will still be a battle for places. Only six points lie between Puma (2nd) and Telefonica (4th)
Interim result
- Groupama, 225 points
- Puma, 200
- Camper, 196
- Telefonica, 194
- Abu Dhabi, 124
- Sanya, 40
The stage starts tomorrow at 11am local time.
