01 Mar 2015
Volvo Ocean Race, Auckland - Finish
15 PHOTOS

Spanish Team Mapfre wins Auckland leg of Volvo Ocean Race.
It was the longest Leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race - Mapfre won the race to Auckland and crossed the finish line just four minutes ahead of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing with Dongfeng Race Team less than four minutes behind them.
Thousands of Aucklanders came to the Race Village and welcomed the Volvo Ocean Race teams to the City of Sails.
Mapfre was led by skipper Xabi Fernández. Ian Walker is the skipper of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing. Dongfeng was skippered by Frenchman Charles Caudrelier.
Leg 4 is 5,264 nautical miles in length and during the thrilling finish three winning boats were divided only by few minutes in result! This is one of the most closely fought stages in the history of the Race.
It is staged over nine legs, visiting 11 ports and every continent. It started in Alicante, Spain, on October 4 last year and ends in Gothenburg, Sweden, on June 27.
In 2014-15 participate 7 teams with sailors from Australia, Belgium, China, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, UK and USA (16 nationalities in a total).
The 2014–2015 race is the longest in its history: 39,379 nautical miles. See the image below for the full details.
NEW rule: the boats are identical!! For the first time ever, the Volvo Ocean Race is being contested in a strict one design class. It was made to eliminate the technical advantages and reveal who is the best sailor. The race will decide who can push themselves the hardest, for the longest and who makes the best decisions.
The points of the Volvo Ocean Race calculates after each leg as following: each of the seven teams receives the same points as their finishing position for each leg. Thus the team with the lowest score at the end of the last leg declared the winner. Before completing Leg #4, Chinese team Dongfeng led the race with five points, followed by Abu Dhabi with six points and Team Brunel was the third with nine points.
Finish times in Auckland (New Zealand time): 28 February 2015 # 1 Mapfre: 21:31:20 - Finished Elapsed time: 20d 02h 31m 20s #2 Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing: 21:35:45 - Finished Elapsed time: 20d 02h 35m 45s #3 Dongfeng Race Team: 21:39:22 - Finished Elapsed time: 20d 02h 39m 22s #4 Team Alvimedica: 22:58:08 - Finished Elapsed time: 20d 03h 58m 08s
01 March 2015 #5 Team Brunel: 01:30:30 - Finished Elapsed time: 20d 06h 30m 30s #6 Team SCA: 04:32:25 - Finished Elapsed time: 20d 09h 32m 25s
The current ranking after 4 legs::
1 Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing 1 3 2 2 8 2 Dongfeng Race Team 2 2 1 3 8 3 Team Brunel 3 1 5 5 14 4 MAPFRE 7 4 4 1 16 5 Team Alvimedica 5 4 3 4 16 6 Team SCA 6 6 6 6 24 7 Team Vestas Wind 4 8 8 8 28


Mapfre, the Winner of Auckland leg Volvo Ocean Race on the finish line |

Mapfre, the Winner of Volvo Ocean Race Auckland leg |

Mapfre, the Winner of Volvo Ocean Race leg #4 finishing |

Leg #4, Sanya (China) – Auckland (New Zealand) |

Mapfre was led by skipper Xabi Fernández |

Ian Walker is the skipper of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing |

Queens Wharf in Auckland, Auckland. February 28 |

Auckland leg of Volvo Ocean Race finishing line. Two hours before teams finished. |

Auckland harbour – cruise liner. View from Queens Wharf in Auckland, Auckland. February 28 |

Mapfre, the Winner of Volvo Ocean Race,
Leg #4, Auckland. February 28, 21: 30: 10 |

The Winner of Volvo Ocean Race leg 4 |


Dongfeng was skippered by Frenchman Charles Caudrelier |

The 2014–2015 race is the longest in its history: 39,379 nautical miles. |
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