Volvo Ocean Race, la terza tappa a Telefonica Blue
Equipo TelefonicaEricsson RacingGreen Dragon RacingOceanoPuma Ocean RacingTeam Delta LloydTeam RussiaVelaVolvo Ocean Race 22 Dicembre 2008 Zerogradinord 0
[singlepic=1182,250,170,,left] Volvo Ocean Race – Singapore – Tagliando il traguardo di Singapore alle 14.51.22 GMT, Telefonica Blue si è aggiudicato la terza tappa della Volvo Ocean Race. Lo scafo di Bouwe Bekking, secondo già a Cochin e al cancello di Palau We, ha anticipato di un niente Il Mostro di Ken Read, riuscito nelle ultime miglia a sorpassare sia Ericsson 3 che Ericsson 4, giunti rispettivamente terzo e quarto.
Un paio d’ore dopo il gruppo dei migliori, a superare la linea d’arrivo è stato Telefonica Black di Fernando Echavarri, giunto quinto. Ancora in mare Green Dragon, Team Russia e Team Delta Lloyd.
Leg 3, day 9, 20.00 GMT, rankings
1 – Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED)
2 – Puma Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA)
3 – Ericsson 3 SWE (Anders Lewander/SWE)
4 – Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA)
5 – Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP)
6 – Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) DTF 48 nm
7 – Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) +25 nm
8 – Team Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) +120 nm
Ranking after three legs
1 – Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) pt. 35
2 – Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) pt. 30.5
3 – Puma Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) pt. 27.5
4 – Ericsson 3 SWE (Anders Lewander/SWE) pt. 23.5
5 – Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) pt. 20.5
6 – Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) pt. 19.5
7 – Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) pt. 10.5
8 – Team Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) pt. 9.0
Per seguire la regata sul Race Tracker clicca qui.
VOLVO OCEAN RACE, TELEFONICA BLUE WINS THIRD LEG
[Volvo Ocean Race Press Release] Bouwe Bekking from the finish line: “A very happy bunch here on Telefonic Blue. We kept our heads cool today, and as predicted it wasn’t over until close to the finish. We had all the exitement in the last 50 miles, dodging fishing nets, zig-zagging around tugboats, hundreds of commercial ships, and then the wind which was ranging from 20 knots to nearly zero. A real test for all the guys minds, as our nice advantage over the others nearly vanished, but we pulled it off and all the guys did a marvelous job. A better X-mas present we couldn’t have wished for.”
UPDATE, 15.10 – Telefonica Blue won leg three but behind, Puma has grabbed second place, while the Nordic crew on board Ericsson 3 pushed their stable mates and overall race leader, Ericsson 4 into fourth place for the leg. We’ll have reaction shortly.
UPDATE, 15.00 – Telefonica Blue crossed the finish line off Singapore at 14.51.22 GMT, or 22:51:22 local time. The fight for second place remains, with Puma and the two Ericsson entries separated by just a few hundred metres approaching the line.
UPDATE, 14.30 – Reports from the water say the race course is littered with commercial traffic and container ships – not a surprise on the waters off Singapore. But it’s another element for the skippers to contend with. Choosing to pass on one side or the other of a ship may be the difference between second and fourth. Meanwhile, further back. Green Dragon is gamely fending off Team Russia. The Russian have gained over 20 miles over the past day on the Dragons, but Ian Walker’s men have crawled back a couple of miles to hold a four mile lead with just under 100 miles to run to the finish.
UPDATE, 14.00 – It doesn’t get any closer. Telefonica Blue is two miles clear of the chasing group, but Puma, Ericsson 4 and Ericsson 3 are all within metres of each other with less than 10 miles to go to the finish. While Bouwe Bekking looks well positioned with less than an hour to go, how this plays out is far from certain. Stay tuned.
UPDATE, 13.30 – With the race into Singapore so close, position reports will be updated every hour until the leading group crosses the line. Tensions are running on board as each team realises the difference between finishing first and fourth is going to come down to one unlucky gust, or one poorly executed manoeuvre. The margin for error is non-existent. Telefonica Blue is leading the charge and now (13.30 GMT) have just one hour to go to the finish. Bouwe Bekking’s men have a two mile margin over Puma with the Ericsson twins both just one mile further back. The wind is holding strong and at 13.30 the boats were making about 12 knots through the water with Telefonica Blue just under 14 miles from the finish line.
Leg 3, day 9, 20.00 GMT, rankings
1 – Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED)
2 – Puma Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA)
3 – Ericsson 3 SWE (Anders Lewander/SWE)
4 – Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA)
5 – Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP)
6 – Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) DTF 48 nm
7 – Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) +25 nm
8 – Team Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) +120 nm
Ranking after three legs
1 – Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) pt. 35
2 – Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) pt. 30.5
3 – Puma Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) pt. 27.5
4 – Ericsson 3 SWE (Anders Lewander/SWE) pt. 23.5
5 – Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) pt. 20.5
6 – Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) pt. 19.5
7 – Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) pt. 10.5
8 – Team Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) pt. 9.0
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