After more then 7,500 nautical miles of racing from Auckland, starting with a first-night battering as bad as any in the race's history and on through brutal conditions in the Southern Ocean and around Cape Horn, PUMA's Mar Mostro crossed the Itajaí finish in brilliant sunshine at 16:09:51 local time (19:09:51 UTC) Friday April 6, to take their first victory of the 2011-12 edition.
Telefonica crossed at 16:22:29 local after their comeback came up just short.
It was clear by Friday morning that Telefonica were going to give PUMA a real run for their money. A deficit that had stood at hundreds of nautical miles came all the way down to 10, then two and at one stage just 0.7 -- a little over a kilometre -- as Telefonica consistently enjoyed better breeze.
But crucially, while the breeze was light, it remained relatively stable and PUMA were able to avoid the sort of wind hole that cost them so dearly on the first stage of leg 4 from Sanya to Auckland.
Over the final 20 nm, skipper Ken Read kept his rivals at bay over a match race up the coast, putting his boat between Telefonica and flawlessly completing a series of gybes to ensure there would be no final heroics.
It was an extraordinary finish to the battle for first place in a leg that saw five of the six boats forced to stop for repairs.
As of Mon, 09 Apr 2012, 22:05:39 UTC:
1. Puma, Finished
2. Telefonica, FInished
3. Groupama, 72 nm to finish
4. Camper, 2324 nm to finish
Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, DNF
Sanya, DNF
