#VOR - Six Volvo Ocean Race teams will be on the start line of the HGC In-Port Race in Hong Kong tomorrow afternoon (Saturday 27 January).
MAPFRE, the overall race leader, is also at the top of the In-Port Race Series leaderboard, with Dongfeng Race Team just one point behind, and Team Brunel completing the current podium.
The HGC In-Port Race is one of two world-class events scheduled in Hong Kong this weekend. On Sunday, the teams will compete in the Around Hong Kong Island Race, a near-shore race around the island of Hong Kong.
Results from the two races will be combined and scored as one event for the purposes of the In-Port Race leaderboard.
Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag will be a team to watch over the weekend. The hometown favourite won Leg 4 from Melbourne into Hong Kong and will be keen to continue its winning ways in front of its enthusiastic home supporters.
Turn the Tide on Plastic will also be hoping to climb up from the bottom of the In-Port results table, with Annalise Murphy on deck to help both for this weekend and the subsequent leg to Auckland, New Zealand.
Meanwhile, Vestas 11th Hour Racing has announced it will not be participating in the inshore racing in Hong Kong this weekend nor in Leg 5 from Hong Kong to Guangzhou.
The team is currently co-ordinating necessary repairs to its boat after it collided with a fishing boat on approach to Hong Kong. One fisherman died and nine others were rescued in the incident last Saturday 20 January.
In other news, the Volvo Ocean Race will live stream on Twitter the eight remaining In-Port Races from the 2017-18 edition, beginning with Hong Kong this weekend.
Fans from all around the world will be able to watch the exciting live races and join the real-time conversation via @volvooceanrace on Twitter.
In addition to the live In-Port Races, @volvooceanrace will also broadcast premium video content from the participating boats for the first time since May 2015, when the race broadcast live from its vessels using Periscope, Twitter’s live streaming video app.
“Twitter is a natural home for the Volvo Ocean Race’s live action and ever-changing story, and we’re excited to partner and work closely with the platform to give our fans a more connected experience than ever before in 2017-18,” said Jordi Neves, chief digital officer with the Volvo Ocean Race.
The introduction of a ground-breaking Crew Communicator device means that for the first time in Volvo Ocean Race history, sailors can send tweets live from the boat, even as they race through the most remote regions on Earth – staying connected via satellites in geo-stationary orbit some 36,000 km in space.
Previously, access to the internet has been prohibited in order to prevent teams receiving information from shore.
Current Volvo Ocean Race In-Port Race Series Leaderboard:
- MAPFRE – 19 points
- Dongfeng Race Team – 18 points
- Team Brunel – 13 points
- Vestas 11th Hour Racing – 12 points
- Team AkzoNobel – 11 points
- Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag – 6 points
- Turn the Tide on Plastic – 5 points
