MAPFRE seals overall Leg Zero victory

Racing was stopped at 0430 UTC Wednesday, with Vestas 11th Hour Racing winning the stage and MAPFRE finishing top of the qualifying standings.

MAPFRE did enough to take the overall Leg Zero honours after the fourth and final stage of the Volvo Ocean Race qualifying series was shortened due to continued forecasts of lights winds.

The stage, which started from Saint-Malo on Sunday and had been due to see the teams race all the way to Lisbon, was brought to a close at 0430 UTC on Wednesday morning.

Fast-improving Vestas 11th Hour Racing took the stage win with the shortest Distance to Finish at 0430 UTC.

team AkzoNobel were second, and third place in the stage was enough for MAPFRE to seal overall victory.

The decision to call a halt to the racing came late on Tuesday night as the stage had become a drifting contest, with the teams making a series of expensive gybes in a bid to find some wind, and latest ETAs predicting that the boats would not reach Lisbon until well into Thursday.

No actual points are at stake on Leg Zero, which was introduced as a means to give the teams crucial time on the water in racing conditions before the Volvo Ocean Race itself begins in October.

Leg Zero, stage four rankings
1. Vestas 11th Hour Racing
2. team AkzoNobel
3. MAPFRE
4. Dongfeng Race Team
5. Team Brunel
6. Turn the Tide on Plastic
7. Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag

Leg Zero, overall final rankings
1. MAPFRE, 29 points
2. Dongfeng Race Team, 24
3. Team Brunel, 24
4. team AkzoNobel, 22
5. Vestas 11th Hour Racing, 20
6. Turn the Tide on Plastic, 12
7. Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag, 9

www.volvooceanrace.com