Late change of heart sees MAPFRE lose out

A late call from MAPFRE has seen them slip behind Team Brunel in the rankings on the final night of Leg 11 – and the 2017-18 edition.

The Spanish boat opted to head west around the Traffic Separation Scheme Exclusion Zones, joining team AkzoNobel, Brunel and Vestas 11th Hour Racing – whilst Dongfeng took the easterly option, followed by Turn the Tide on Plastic and Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag.

But as their path converged with leaders team AkzoNobel and Team Brunel, they had dropped a mile behind the Dutch boats, and MAPFRE's Blair Tuke admits that a last minute change of heart has left his team feeling the pain.

"It's a real interesting one on the final approach to The Hague," he said. "We were lining up to go on the inside, down Germany and the top of Holland, and made a late call to go west – and as a result we lost quite a lot on Brunel and team AkzoNobel who decided to go this way earlier.

"It's a tricky one but we have to do what we think is right to get us there the fastest. Both boats we have to beat are going different ways. We're going to have to fight to the end."

"There's going to be a compression as we come into the finish, so plenty still to play for. Glad we're still here and in the fight."

The routing for both east and west options is currently not showing much difference and it's becoming apparent that the winner of this leg – and the race overall – could be decided in the last 20 miles of Leg 11.