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Abu Dhabi Racing on verge of victory in Volvo Ocean Race

The Emirati crew, skippered by Briton Ian Walker, has an eight-point lead in the nine-month offshore sailing marathon and would need to finish last in the leg and accrue two penalty points to lose that advantage.

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The Emirati team has an eight-point lead. — Supplied photo

The Hague — Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing had the Volvo Ocean Race trophy within their grasp as the seven boats entered the final lap on Saturday heading for Gothenburg after a one-day ‘pit-stop’ in The Hague.

The Emirati crew, skippered by Briton Ian Walker, has an eight-point lead in the nine-month offshore sailing marathon and would need to finish last in the leg and accrue two penalty points to lose that advantage.

They were fifth in the leg leaving The Hague.

Dongfeng, second in the leg, and Team Brunel, in fourth, are heading for a tie for runners-up spot overall which can only be settled by the in-port race series concluding in Gothenburg on June 27, the final event of the 2014-15 edition.

Only two teams out of seven, Team Alvimedica (Turkey/US) and Team Vestas Wind (Denmark), are yet to win a leg in the 38,739-nautical mile (nm), triennial event, which visits 11 ports in total and every continent.

Denmark’s Team Vestas Wind missed five legs while the boat was being rebuilt following a crash into a reef in the Indian Ocean on the second stage last November.

Team Alvimedica, crewed by the most inexperienced team in the race, have accrued two top-three finishes and would dearly love to close out with a triumph in Sweden.

The boats are expected to arrive in Gothenburg late on Monday or early on Tuesday, depending on conditions.

Team Alvimedica restarted The Hague on Saturday with a 91-minute advantage over their closest pursuers, Dongfeng Race Team (China), having led the fleet into the famous Dutch port early on Friday. 

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