Dongfeng Race Team knows how to take advantage of their boat's options, in all conditions, and tonight confirmed their know-how. With speeds of 11.8 to 13 knots, they were the fastest and further widened the gap with their competitors, distancing them by another twenty miles.
Behind them, 110 miles away, Alvimedica is in second place ème position. While 24 hours ago he was in the quartet of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, Team Brunel and MAPFRE, he took advantage of a more favourable wind to catch up with Team Brunel. Yesterday afternoon, after passing the Palau We waypoint, Team Alvamedica was the furthest east as the rest of the fleet moved north. Turning south, the team passed MAPFRE directly and took the 2nd place ème place. However, the Spanish crew, which was not really far from the Turkish-American one, took the place behind Dongfeng. So who will stay in 2nd place? ème place?
Amaury Ross, navigator on board Alvimedica, said " It is quite ironic that on this first hectic day in the Straits of Malacca (hectic via AIS), we consciously broke our dependence on this tool. By choosing a route to the south that is significantly different from that of our closest competitors, we can no longer see them on the AIS. Our positioning is as much a strategic choice as a piece of luck with the wind we had last night. It was too good not to try."
Ranking as of January 19 at 4:15 pm:
1 - Dongfeng Race Team
2 - MAPFRE
3 - Team Alvimedica
4 - Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing
5 - Team Brunel
6 - Team SCA
