The Ocean Race 2022-23: 11th Hour Racing Team win Grand Finale in Genova to add In-Port series title to overall victory

ByAlasdair Mackenzie

Updated 30/10/2023 at 14:50 GMT

The Ocean Race 2022-23 came to an end in Genova, where light winds made for challenging conditions for the IMOCA and VO65 fleets in the In-Port race. 11th Hour edged a tight battle to clinch victory in the Grand Finale ahead of Team Malizia and secure their In-Port series victory. Team JAJO got another win, with WindWhisper finishing last but still keeping their place on top of the standings.

11th Hour Racing Team capped a superb Ocean Race campaign by winning the Grand Finale in Genova to add the In-Port series title to their overall triumph.

Light winds off the Ligurian coast made for challenging conditions as the epic event, which has seen the IMOCA and VO65 fleets navigate the globe since January, came to an end.

11th Hour, who became the first American-flagged team to claim Ocean Race victory in its 50-year history this week, made a late move to edge a slow but tight race in Italy, jumping from third to first at the death.

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A wind shift saw the start of the race face a short delay, and once it got underway there was little to separate the top three boats as they took different approaches on the course in their search for a breeze.

11th Hour topped the IMOCA In-Port standings with 29 points, four ahead of Malizia in second place.

IMOCA In-Port Series final standings

• 11th Hour Racing Team – 29 points
• Team Malizia – 25 points
• Biotherm – 19 points
• Team Holcim-PRB – 17 points
• GUYOT environnement – Team Europe – 10 points

JAJO win VO65 race as WindWhisper hold on

Team JAJO took victory in the VO65 class race, with WindWhisper finishing last but still winning the In-Port Series.

Light winds of three to six knots provided a big challenge to the teams as they crawled out at the start, but JAJO soon pushed ahead to lead the pack.

WindWhisper got off to a disastrous start and there were even some initial worries heading to the first mark that they might risk being timed out and spectacularly losing their In-Port lead in the conditions.

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After 30 minutes of slow progress, the race committee decided to shorten the course to just one lap and JAJO crossed the line in first.

Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team were next, 60 seconds behind, with VIVA Mexico third.

There was a close battle for fourth but Austrian Ocean Racing powered by Team Genova just stayed ahead of WindWhisper, who finished last but well within the time limit.

“A light and tricky day and not much breeze, but we had a really good start,” said JAJO skipper Jelmer van Beek.

“They say you’re only as good as your last race, and we won the last race! It’s nice to finish like this. Time for a holiday now but I love this race, it was a great experience.”

'Look at this!' - All the highlights from a thrilling VO65 In-Port race at the Ocean Race

VO65 In-Port Series final standings

• 1. WindWhisper Racing Team - 19 points
  2. Team JAJO - 17 points
  3. Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team - 12 points
  4. Viva Mexico - 10 points
  5. Austrian Ocean Racing powered by Team Genova - 8 points
  6. Ambersail 2 - 0 points

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31/10/2023 at 17:05