During the past 24 hours the team have cut down the gap with leading French entry “Virbac-Paprec 3” by another 45 miles and have increased the lead on their rival in closest pursuit, “Estrella Damm” to 137 miles
Mapfre. Image copyright Maria Muina/Barcelona World Race.
by Mapfre media
Whilst “MAPFRE” maintains her speed and course, with her bow pointing East ready to attack the the Crozet gate (the safety waypoint), leader “Virbac-Paprec 3” has had to follow a North course in order to fulfil the requirement of passing the obligatory safety waypoint of Crozet. As such, the entry was recovering this morning from slower progress during the night, with the average speed difference playing 3 knots in Iker Martínez and Xabi Fernández's favour.
The double Olympic medallists, better positioned with respect to the gate than the French leaders, are continuing to bid for a more northerly position, and have been joined in their decision by Renault Z.E., some 300 miles (555.6 km) from “MAPFRE” and even slightly further North than the yacht.
At now over one month into the Barcelona World Race, there are no longer any doubts about the great role the “MAPFRE” skippers have been performing in this regatta. Despite the fact that both skippers have round the world experience on yachts with up to eleven crew members, this is their first circumnavigation of the globe with just two crew.
Over the past 24 hours, Iker and Xabi haven't let up in cutting down the gap with the leader, now at 543.2 miles (1,006 km). The situation forecasted for the next 24 hours will mean that those following this regatta will have their eyes on the development of a squall positioned to the South of the island of Madagascar, with winds at its centre of up to 40 knots (74.1 km/h), moving Southeast. That means it could not only trap the leader, but also her most direct rivals.
With a steady pace, “MAPFRE” is progressing well, having covered some 258.3 miles (478.3 km) in the past 24 hours, making her the second fastest yacht behind Britain's “Hugo Boss”, still in the Atlantic Ocean and having been able to step on the gas thanks to a squally front at the back of the fleet.
Third and fourth placed “Estrella Damm” and “Groupe Bel” continue their duel, just 4.5 miles (8,3 km) apart, as indicated in the position report at 14:00 GMT. Meanwhile, “MAPFRE” has been able to push further away from these entries, some 20 miles more over the past 24 hours, to 137.4 miles (254.4 km) from Ribes and Pella and 141.9 miles (262.8 km) from French skippers De Pavant and Audigane.
GENERAL RANKINGS
Day 32 - 14:00 GMT
1. VIRBAC-PAPREC 3 (Jean Pierre Dick - Loïck Peyron) FRA, 16,657 miles from finish
2. MAPFRE (Iker Martínez - Xabi Fernández) ESP, +543.2 miles
3. ESTRELLA DAMM SAILING TEAM (Alex Pella - Pepe Ribes) ESP, +680.6 miles
4. GROUPE BEL (Kito de Pavant - Sebastien Audigane) FRA, +685.1 miles
5. RENAULT Z. E. (Pachi Rivero - Antonio Piris) ESP, +843.9 miles
6. MIRABAUD (Dominique Wavre - Michéle Paret) SUI, +1,252.2 miles
7. NEUTROGENA FÓRMULA NORUEGA (Boris Herrmann - Ryan Breymaier) NOR, +1,310 miles
8. GAES CENTROS AUDITIVOS (Dee Caffari - Anna Corbella) GBR/ESP, +1,626.4 miles
9. HUGO BOSS (Wouter Verbraak - Andy Meiklejohn) GBR, +1,832.7 miles
10. WE ARE WATER (Jaume Mumbrú - Cali Sanmartí) ESP, +2,076.6 miles
11. CENTRAL LECHERA ASTURIANA (Juan Merediz - Fran Palacio) ESP, +2,099 miles
12. FÒRUM MARÍTIM CATALÀ (Gerard Marín - Ludovic Aglaor) ESP, +2,145.6 miles
** PRÉSIDENT (Jean le Cam - Bruno García) FRA/ESP, RACE ABANDONED 12th January.
** FONCIA (Michel Desjoyeaux - François Gabart) FRA, RACE ABANDONED 26th January.
Mapfre
Barcelona World Race
