MADRID, 27 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The fifth leg of The Ocean Race goes from record to record with the leading trio setting a dizzying pace in the last 48 hours en route to Aarhus, due to arrive in the Danish port at midnight on Sunday.
First it was the 11th Hour Racing Team, who set a new record, but was soon eclipsed by Team Holcim-PRB, who seemed to have set not only a new race record, but also the all-time record for the distance covered in 24 hours. in a monocoque.
The tail boat of the leading trio was the last to encounter favorable conditions to break records: downwind at 25 knots and relatively flat waters, ideal for the latest generation IMOCAs that make up the fleet in The Ocean Race.
But if the sailors aboard Team Malizia started later, their finish was brilliant. On Friday night around 22:20 UTC, the team surpassed the mark set by Team Holcim-PRB, narrowly setting the new standard: 641.13 nautical miles covered in 24 hours.
The data will need to be ratified by the World Sailing Speed Record Council to be official, but it far exceeds the previous mark of 618.01 miles set by the 100ft Comanche maxi in 2015.
The lead pack is now (at 1100 UTC Saturday) climbing up the west coast of Scotland and about to turn east around the upper UK and heading towards Denmark.