Volvo Ocean Race: Mapfre wins the battle of nerves in the fog off Newport

It happened in the last few metres of the several-hour-long battle in the doldrums in the final phase of stage 8. In extremely light winds off Newport, front runner Brunel and the Spanish team Mapfre had initially left their rivals from Charles Caudrelier's Dongfeng Race Team behind, only to then engage in a slow-motion duel under high tension that left no-one wanting. Bouwe Bekking's Team Brunel was able to defend the lead until shortly before the final turning point. Both the yellow and the red Spanish boats battled their way round the course. However, two additional Brunel jibes then opened the door for Mapfre to make an overtaking manoeuvre. This was achieved shortly before rounding the last turning mark. A few minutes later, Mapfre's coup was perfect. The comeback of the team, which had technical problems on this stage and had been in penultimate place for a long time, was perfect at just before 1 p.m. German time.

"It couldn't have gone any better considering where we came from on this leg. The bonus point for this victory is a good reward for my team," said Mapfree's skipper Xabí Fernandez at the finish. Bouwe Bekking's Team Brunel was also relieved at the end of the nerve-wracking duel, but could not hide their disappointment at losing the stage win so close to the finish line. Bekking said: "Sailing can be a cruel sport!" Brunel's navigator Andrew Cape could hardly believe it: "I have completed around 50 legs in races around the world in my career. It's the first time I've lost a leg in the last nautical mile." Nevertheless, the Dutch team proudly announced: "2nd place! After the most intense finale imaginable, we finished stage 8 to Newport in second place. This second top position in a row gives us great motivation for the remaining three stages!"

To the delight of the fans in Newport, the American-Danish team Vestas 11th Hour Racing crossed the finish line shortly after the two leading boats and thus took third place on the podium on arrival in their home port. Charles Caudrelier's Dongfeng Race Team then crossed the finish line defeated and disappointed. Just a few hours earlier, the French-Chinese team had even led for a short time in the early hours of the morning, before the strong outgoing current combined with foggy doldrums pushed Dongfeng back to fourth place on the Newport approach. "Of course we are disappointed. We knew that the final phase would be very complicated. But not that complicated!" However, Caudrelier's challenge immediately followed: "The race is far from over!" His helmswoman and trimmer Carolijn Brouwer announced: "We will be ready for the next leg and fight back."

Turn-the-Tide-on-Plastic skipper Dee Caffari and her crew arrived in the American sailing capital similarly disappointed. They had also led the fleet for a while on this leg, but were once again unfortunate enough to be left behind in the final stages. In the end, Team Brunel was very similar: a few minutes before the finish, Simeon Tienpont's Team AkzoNobel narrowly won their duel with Dee Caffari's 50:50 mixed team.

David Witt's team Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag, on the other hand, had almost two and a half weeks to come to terms with their last place after a strategic mistake at the start of leg 8. In the end, the team, which had to cope with the death of crew member John Fisher on leg 7, was able to make up almost 200 nautical miles within 72 hours under the Hong Kong flag and look forward to arriving in Newport with positive energy despite finishing in 7th place.