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Volvo Ocean Race Heating Up

Volvo Ocean Race Heating Up

Date: 2017-02-03
MAPFRE will be back on the start line for the Volvo Ocean Race in 2017-18, the Spanish team announced on Tuesday.

MAPFRE, backed by the Madrid-based global insurance company, are the third confirmed entry for sailing's toughest team event, which starts from Alicante on Sunday, 22 October and will take the teams on a 45,000-nautical mile route around the world. Dongfeng Race Team and team AkzoNobel announced their campaigns last year.

In the last edition in 2014-15, MAPFRE won the leg into Auckland, New Zealand and grabbed three more podium finishes. Their return is testament to the success of the project both on the sporting and commercial side.

Spain's Pedro Campos will again oversee the MAPFRE project, with announcements on the skipper and crew to come in the near future.

"It's fantastic news to be able to confirm a Spanish team for the next edition, and of course great to see another sponsor return to the race after a successful campaign," said Volvo Ocean Race CEO Mark Turner. "With Alicante recently confirmed as the start for the next three editions, and Spain having played a significant role in the history of the race in general, it will be great to see Spanish fans lined up again on the dock in October to cheer on their team, MAPFRE."

From the start in Alicante on 22 October, the teams will race their one-design Volvo Ocean 65s on a route that calls in at Lisbon, Cape Town, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Auckland, Itaja', Newport (Rhode Island), Cardiff and Gothenburg before the finish in The Hague.

A recent rule change provides a major incentive for teams to include female sailors as part of the crew, while a series of further initiatives were announced last year to make the racing more open than ever.

Watch The Bugle for more on this epic sporting event coming soon.