2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race Breaks Numerous Records
Wednesday, November 28, 2018
The Volvo Ocean Race saw record-breaking numbers in 2017-18.
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After 126 days of racing, the winning margin was just 16 minutes, the closest race in history, while over $2.5 million fans attended the four race stopovers including Newport.
“When we look back at what was achieved in this last race, the bar has been set at a very high level. The teams and sailors delivered incredible performances on the water, which led to compelling sport and storytelling,” said Richard Brisius, who took over ownership following the competition.
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The 2017-18 race started in Alicante, Spain in October of 2017 and finished in The Hague in the Netherlands in June of 2018.
Newport hosted the only North American stopover of the race for the second consecutive time and, as with the first stopover in 2015.
See Photos in the Slideshow Below
The Newport stopover used a total of 885 volunteers over a two week period.
The race was won by Dongfeng Race Team, who edged Team MAPFRE by just minutes.
It was the first ever win for a Chinese team.
2021-22 Race to be Announced
The 2021-22 edition of the race will start from Alicante, Spain in the autumn of 2021 and finish in Europe in the early summer of 2022, with up to nine stopover ports.
The full race route will be confirmed in the summer of next year.
Two classes of boats will compete in the next race, the high-tech, foiling, IMOCA 60s and the one-design VO65s that produced such close racing in the last edition of the race.
“The interest from sailors and teams to compete in the next race is very high. Adding the IMOCA 60 class to the existing VO65 fleet brings back a design and technology element, which has traditionally been a big part of the race. It adds another layer of complexity to the project, which is interesting for the sailors, designers, and engineers, and ultimately for the fans as well,” said co-owner Johan Salen.
Salen added that a Notice of Race will be issued next month.
See Photos from Newport in the Slideshow Below
Related Slideshow: Volvo Ocean Race Newport Stopover - May 8, 2018
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