#VOLVO OCEAN RACE - Telefónica have taken the lead in the IWC Schaffhausen Speed Record Challenge and set a new speed record on the penultimate leg of the Volvo Ocean Race.

Their distance of 557 nautical miles in a 24-hour run bests the previous record of 553nm set by CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand during the first leg from Alicante to Cape Town late last year.

It's a double indignity for the CAMPER team, who stalled metres from the seventh leg finish line in Lisbon and were pipped to fourth place by Telefónica by a mere 1 minute 24 seconds.

A massive low pressure system in the Atlantic is sending the fleet to Lorient at incredible speed, and with 600 nautical miles still to go, there's plenty of room yet for another team to claim the record.

Telefónica are currently leading the leg, closely followed by the Groupama team - which features Kerry sailor Damian Foxall among its crew.

The world record for a monohull over 24 hours is 596.6nm sailed by Ericsson 4 in the last edition of the race.