Volvo Ocean Race

Review

Watch the replay of the Auckland In-Port Race in full HD click here

Final results

Position / Team / Finish time / Points

1. CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand / 1 hour, 38 seconds / 6 points

2. PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG / 1 hour, 01 minute, 32 seconds / 5 points

3. Groupama sailing team / 1 hour, 02 minutes, 04 seconds / 4 points

4. Team Sanya / 1 hour, 02 minutes, 58 seconds  / 3 points

5. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing / 1 hour, 03 minutes, 30 seconds / 2 points

6. Team Telefónica / 1 hour, 04 minutes, 05 seconds / 1 point


Local heroes CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand clinched a dream victory on Saturday, winning the Auckland In-Port Race in front of tens of thousands of ecstatic fans to reinvigorate their Volvo Ocean Race campaign.

CAMPER, the Spanish sponsored team who count Auckland as one of their two homeports, earned the advantage with a tack right to the shoreline off the start and once in front never let go, keeping a comfortable lead all the way home on the 60-minute course.

PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG finished second, just 54 seconds behind, followed by Groupama sailing team in the third podium spot.

Team Sanya, skippered by Auckland-born Mike Sanderson, sailed a terrific race to clinch fourth ahead of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing and Team Telefónica, who between them had won all four of the previous races in the in-port series.

"The one thing we said all week was how do we thank everyone who has supported us," said skipper Chris Nicholson. "I hope this goes a long way to thanking them.

"It's been a huge week of support and it's helped.''

CAMPER scored six points for the win but it wasn’t enough to edge them ahead on the overall leaderboard where they remain third with 104 points, behind Telefónica (122 points) and Groupama (107).

It was PUMA who looked to have scored the jump off the start line, sprinting under full speed to the lead with a dominant position to windward at the committee boat end of the line.

Within a minute of the start gun firing a split in the fleet developed with CAMPER, Sanya and Groupama opting to tack to a course closer to the city’s port.

The trio gained pace with one knot less current against them than their counterparts PUMA, Telefónica and Abu Dhabi in the middle of Waitemata Harbour.

It was CAMPER who came out on top of the split, locking in first place as the fleet engaged in some very close-quarter sailing.

Sanya fell foul of the tight racing, falling to sixth place on the back of a port/starboard incident with Groupama within five minutes of the start.

After the 18-minute, 2.5 nautical mile upwind sprint to the first mark CAMPER clung to a slim 19-second lead over Groupama. 

PUMA trailed in third by 55 seconds, followed by Sanya 1:29 behind, Abu Dhabi in fifth by 1:35 and Telefónica in sixth by 1:41.

The easterly breeze picked up to 18-20 knots as the teams cracked their spinnakers, which proved only to add to CAMPER’s domination as they extended their lead to 40 seconds.

Groupama and PUMA held their positions, while Abu Dhabi moved to fourth, Telefónica to fifth and Sanya to sixth.

PUMA managed to manoeuvre in front of Groupama on leg three and trail CAMPER by 1:01. Groupama held third position, but they were under pressure from Team Sanya who had clawed back to fourth, with Abu Dhabi in fifth and Team Telefónica in sixth.

Positions remained locked-in as the team’s crossed the finish line much to the delight of the crowd.

Download:

- Auckland In-Port Race crew list

- Auckland In-Port Race course map

Preview

Hundreds of spectator boats are expected, while thousands of fans will watch from the Race Village as Telefónica and Abu Dhabi resume their battle for inshore supremacy, with the two teams having won all four of the previous races in the series between them.

There would be no better time or place for CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand to break that sequence.

“It’s a massive race,” said skipper Chris Nicholson, whose Spanish-sponsored CAMPER team count Auckland as one of their two home ports. “It’s such a big one for us here.

"If the welcome we received back in on Sunday is an indication it should be a huge day all round and the racecourse looks great."

Despite finishing third in Leg 4 from Sanya to Auckland, Team Telefónica retain an 18-point lead at the top as the race nears its half-way point and they will start as favourites, despite being the only team not to benefit from local knowledge from a Kiwi crew member.

“For sure it's good to have local knowledge for the in-port races and it will be good for the other teams to have Kiwis on board,” said skipper Iker Martínez.

“But we try to learn and we hope to have a good race. For sure it is an advantage for them but we are going to try our best."

Groupama sailing team are up to second after becoming the first team apart from Telefónica to win an offshore leg, though they could slip back to third if CAMPER win and the French team come sixth.

"I think we are moving in the right direction," said Groupama skipper Franck Cammas. "We have a lot of work still to do in inshore, but we are confident."

Race organisers have set a course littered with challenges in Waitemata Harbour, including submerged rocks, wind shadows, a strong tide and four turning marks.

There are two course options, with the first staying inside the harbour for light breezes and the second taking the boats out to Rough Rock if the breeze is heavier. With winds of up to 20 knots forecast, the six Volvo Open 70s will be able to stretch their legs over the 60 minutes of the race.

Although they finished fifth in Leg 4, and missed the Pro-Am race to carry out work on their rigging, in-port wins in Alicante and Abu Dhabi will see Ian Walker’s Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing team hit the water with confidence.

“It’s flat water out in the harbour, which I think our boat thrives on,” Walker said. “To date we’re probably the top boat inshore so we’re looking forward to trying to get another in-port race win.”

The crowd will also be cheering for Mike Sanderson, the Auckland-born skipper of China’s Team Sanya.

Sanderson’s team are the only ones racing in a second-hand boat, meaning overall victory was never on the cards, but they do hope to make it on to the podium before the end of the race and they were given a great boost when they won Friday’s non-scoring Pro-Am racing for guests.

“We saw twice as many spectator boats out today than we’ve seen so I think the guys who have never experienced a Volvo in Auckland are in for a big shock tomorrow,” said Sanderson.

Download:

- Auckland In-Port Race crew list

- Auckland In-Port Race course map