All are gaining on race leaders Virbac-Paprec 3 who are still docked in Wellington, whilst Neutrogena overtakes Mirabaud to claim sixth place
According to this morning’s 10:00 CET position update, Neutrogena have gained a place on Mirabaud after a close battle which has seen the two boats locked together through all six Southern Ocean ice gates – at times separated by as little as two miles.
Neutrogena ‘s Boris Herrmann (GER) and Ryan Breymaier (USA) have a four mile advantage over Dominique Wavre (SUI) and Michele Paret (FRA) on a more northerly path, and one to two miles faster boatspeed.
Groupe Bel are also working hard to continue their advance on third-placed Estrella Damm, having reduced their margin to just 11 miles this morning.
In Wellington, New Zealand, the clock is ticking for long-term leaders Virbac-Paprec 3, who surprised everyone by annoucing that they would be stopping during the Cook Strait passage to make key repairs.
Their 48-hour mandatory penalty for stopping began at 11:11 CET yesterday, so the team are nearly halfway through their stopover in order for Jean-Pierre Dick and Loick Peyron (FRA) to leave and resume racing as soon as possible.
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