The New Zealand sailor Peter Burling and his Team Brunel team have narrowly won leg nine of the Volvo Ocean Race, to move within striking distance of the overall lead with two legs left.
Team Brunel, skippered by Dutchman Bouwe Bekking, fended off a strong challenge from fellow Dutch boat Team AkzoNobel, crossing the finish line first in Cardiff by just over 4 minutes.
They overhauled Team AkzoNobel in the strong strong currents and light winds of the Bristol Channel.
The victory adds 15 points to his overall score and moves his team within striking distance of the overall race lead with two legs to go.
Team Brunel cross the finish line in Cardiff. Photo: Volvo Ocean Race
The win comes on the back of a race record last week when Tienpont and his crew obliterated the 24 hour race record set in 2008, sailing 602.5 nautical miles.
"Winning of course is nice to get the bonus point and then a nice fight to beat AkzoNobel in the end as well, so we're a happy team," said Bekking.
"But the aim is to keep looking forward. We've closed the gap to MAPFRE (the overall leader) and Dongfeng and victory remains our main objective!"
If the teams still racing finish in their current positions, Team Brunel will be just three points off the overall race lead.
-RNZ
