The Ocean Race Europe: Offshore Team Germany wins 3rd leg and takes overall lead
The team thus achieved a surprising stage victory on the 600 nautical mile leg from Alicante/Spain to Genoa/Italy. OTG has now taken the sole lead in the overall standings and a podium place is already out of reach. The final coastal race off Genoa will be sailed on Saturday, but even if no points are scored there, third place among the five Imocas is safe.
The very light wind conditions on the final leg of The Ocean Race Europe favoured the only non-foiler in the Imoca field. The pronounced high-pressure weather conditions cancelled out the supposed advantage of the ultra-modern foilers of the competition around "LinkedOut" (France), "11th Hour Racing" (USA), "Corum L'Épargne" (France) and "Bureau Vallée" (France). This left the game wide open, depending on weather routing and the right cards in the wind poker.
The routing from OTG navigator Benjamin Dutreux (France) envisaged a route to the north of the Balearic Islands. And so the crew of the German "Einstein" set a tack immediately after passing the waymark off Alicante and headed towards the coast. Initially, "Corum L'Épargne" also chose the route close to the coast, but then decided to follow the other Imocas onto the open Mediterranean. This opened up a wide gap between the OTG and the rest of the fleet shortly after the start.
It was a deliberate choice of the previously planned route, not a deliberate decision in favour of the split. Nevertheless, the "Einstein" was left to its own devices, but found the better wind in the north of the Balearic Islands. While the competing fleet first got stuck south of Mallorca and then again between Mallorca and Menorca, the OTG team was able to extend its lead to around 100 nautical miles by Wednesday morning.
However, the gap offered no security, and the lead evaporated on Wednesday like water in the Mediterranean.
The chasers came up with more pressure and the 100 nautical mile gap became just over 30 nautical miles when the "Einstein" crossed close to the French mainland coast on Wednesday. But during the night, "11th Hour Racing" and "LinkedOut", who are battling with OTG for overall victory on Saturday, were also slowed down. Before the final beat towards Genoa this morning, Robert Stanjek and his crew had a 40 nautical mile cushion when they took a bearing on Genoa. It was impossible for the competition to catch up. So there was jubilation and joy on board the "Einstein" when they crossed the finish line at 11.35 am - coupled with exhaustion and relief after a long, nerve-wracking leg.
The Austrian Ocean Race Project, which had started the race with a stage win, only came last of the seven VO65 yachts on this leg. It also has no chance of a podium place in the coastal race.
The Coastal Race, which is decisive for the overall ranking, will start for the Imocas at 12.15 pm on Saturday. The winner will receive three points for the ranking, the two runners-up two and one point respectively. The OTG leads the overall standings with 14 points.
