Peter Burling on the charge as Volvo Ocean Race tightens

VOLVO OCEAN RACE

Peter Burling at the helm of Team Brunel during the Volvo Ocean Race.

Peter Burling's late charge in the Volvo Ocean continues to gather pace with his Dutch boat on the verge of victory in the penultimate leg.

Team Brunel was leading the fleet in leg 10 as they eye the finish line in Gothenburg, Sweden on Friday (NZT).

Veteran skipper Bouwe Bekking's Team Brunel shot past most of the fleet over the past 24 hours, eventually eking ahead of Spanish entry Mapfre, who have Burling's mate and rival Blair Tuke on board, and taking the lead.

But with less the finish line looming, less than 10-miles separated the top six boats.

After a frustrating opening half of the race Burling's Team Brunel (57 points) have dominated the recent legs to move to within three points of a leaderboard headed by Chinese entry Dongfeng Race Team (60) and Mapfre (59).

Burling and Tuke are vying to be the first sailors to complete the golden hat-trick in the same cycle – Olympic gold, America's Cup glory and a round the world win.

Brunel has finished on the podium in the last three stages, winning legs seven and nine and collecting a phenomenal 37 of 39 points available.

The blistering change in fortune has rocketed them back into contention – and a win in Leg 10 would confirm their chances for the overall race victory with just the final short leg to The Hague to be sailed after this.

"Like we've seen in absolutely every leg, it's not over until you cross the finish line," Brunel's Australian ace Kyle Langford said.

"We've been on the bad end of that – we were leading into Newport on leg eight and lost it with 30 seconds to go.

"So, we know that anything is possible until the finish so you've got to keep an optimistic attitude, even if you're behind. But we're positive, I think, that we can win this leg and also the overall race we've just got to keep doing what we're doing."

Having led the race overall for the early stages before being caught up, the Mpafre crew are all too aware of the enormity of the situation.

"We're all pushing as much as we can," said Mapfre's Antonio Cuervas Mons. "I think Brunel found a new mode which has seen them sail faster than us. We are maybe faster than them downwind though. The race will be decided over these coming hours so we just need to keep pushing as hard as possible."

Meanwhile, Dongfeng were kicking themselves for allowing their rivals to slip past as the fleet skirted the southern coast of Norway in southerly winds of more than 30 knots.

"It was not the best night we've had on Dongfeng – we've been quite slow and we don't know why," said Dongfeng's Kevin Escoffier.

"It's very annoying. We were behind Mapfre but Brunel passed us, as did Turn the Tide on Plastic and AkzoNobel.

"We're now back ahead of Turn the Tide but there's still a lot of work to do to come back at least on Brunel and Mapfre and be able to play for the victory on the final leg."

The latest ETA sees the leaders arriving in Gothenburg around 2230 local time, having raced 1,300 miles from Cardiff, Wales.

 

Volvo Ocean Race Points Table after Leg 9
1. Dongfeng Race Team – 60 points *
2. MAPFRE – 59 points 
3. Team Brunel – 57 points 
4. team AkzoNobel – 48 points 
5. Vestas 11th Hour Racing – 36 points 
6. SHK / Scallywag – 29 points 
7. Turn the Tide on Plastic – 26 points

* One additional point will be awarded to the team with the best elapsed time at the conclusion of the race in The Hague. Currently, Dongfeng would win this point.
** Should there be a tie on the overall race leaderboard at the end of the offshore legs, the In-Port Race Series standings will be used to break the tie.

Current Volvo Ocean Race In-Port Race Series Points Table
1. MAPFRE – 56 points
2. Dongfeng Race Team – 49 points
4. Team Brunel – 41 points
3. team AkzoNobel – 39 points
5. Vestas 11th Hour Racing – 26 points
6. Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag – 21 points
7. Turn the Tide on Plastic – 17 points