After a little rest and above all repairs to get the VOR 65s, damaged by the difficult leg between Auckland and Itajai, back on track, the 8th leg of the Volvo Ocean Race started on Sunday 22nd April 2018. MAPFRE completed the inaugural leg ahead of Dongfeng Race Team and Team Brunel, with the intention of confirming that it is a race to be reckoned with, as he had shown on the In-Port of Itajai with his first place.
Following a mainsail carriage damage on stage 7, the Spanish team finished in 5th place, allowing Dongfeng Race Team to take the lead in the overall standings, just one point behind MAPFRE. The latter has apparently decided to take his revenge...
The Spanish crew - reduced to eight following the withdrawal of Sophie Ciszek, who suffered an elbow injury and has not been replaced - got off to the best start before passing the six marks on the course, the last one 41 seconds ahead of Dongfeng Race Team, 1'05 of Team Brunel, 1'18 of Turn the Tide on Plastic, 1'46 of AkzoNobel, 2'59 of Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag and 3'19 of Vestas 11th Hour Racing. In a north-easterly wind of 10-12 knots, the seven Volvo Ocean 65s then headed east, upwind, which will initially be the daily routine for the 63 sailors on board on this eighth leg.
In terms of crew repairs, there are 10 on Turn the Tide on Plastic, including Nicolas Lunven, back at sea in place of Brian Thompson, 9 on Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag, whose crew arrived late in Brazil after the decision was made to continue in homage to John Fisher, who died at sea on the seventh leg, with reinforcements from Luke Parkinson and Peter Cumming, but also on Team Brunel (Louis Balcaen replaced Thomas Rouxel), on Dongfeng Race Team (Stu Bannatyne took over from Jérémie Beyou), on Vestas 11th Hour Racing (Danish Jena Mai Hansen took over from Hannah Diamond) and on Team AkzoNobel (team unchanged).
Contrary to the start of the race, it is therefore MAPFRE who is "chasing" the Franco-Chinese crew, who are hoping to arrive in Newport as winners, but are well aware that a point is nothing. " One point, it's nothing... As we've seen in previous stages, things can change very quickly. But it's very positive to be at the top of the rankings, because it's been quite frustrating since the start to stay behind MAPFRE. It's good for the morale of the team and for motivation explained Charles Caudrelier, skipper of Dongfeng, before the departure from Brazil. As he left the pontoon, he added, "It's a great pleasure to be here is a dream day for spectators. For us, it's a bit stressful because the stage will be complicated in terms of weather. We're leaving Brazil at the head of the race. Even if the road is still long with a lot of obstacles and traps, with stronger and stronger competitors in front of us... The pressure is high. We are happy to leave, to be on the water and in the match !"
For his part, the Basque sailor Pascal Bidégorry said: " The Deep South is behind us and we're going to change the sailing conditions completely. Less wind, upwind, and complex crossings like the Doldrums. But above all, everything remains to be done in the race, there are still a lot of points at stake. We'll be following on from that with the double-handed transatlantic race, which will not forgive any mistakes. We've seen that a lot can happen in a very short time, so let's stay calm."
