Eight IMOCA monohulls took part in the first edition of the Round Spain Race, the "Vuelta España", which ended in Barcelona last night with a win for Marc Guillemot and the crew of Safran. The line up was dominated by the Spanish, as six out of the eight boats taking part were Spanish (Estrella Damm, Hotels-Nova Bocana, Movistar, GAES Centros Auditivos, Central Lechera Asturiana and Pakea Bizkaia) with just two French boats: Safran skippered by Marc Guillemot, which won the race and Vincent Riou’s new PRB, which finished second with the help of Jean Le Cam.
This new race showed in any case that the Spanish crews and skippers are certainly on the up, as they were serious contenders against the French. The final leg between Palma and Barcelona showed just how strong the Spanish teams are when competing on this level. Right up to the finish, it looked like the Spaniards were going to win, as Estrella Damm led the way right up to the gate at Palamos, when Movistar took over in the upwind stretch to Barcelona. The crews of PRB and Safran really had to give it their all to ensure that Iker Martinez and Xabi Fernández did not win. Then, there was a close fight behind between Estrella Damm and W Hotels-Nova Bocana, who ended up on equal points in this Round Spain Race. To separate them, they had to see who scored the most first places, then second places and so on: So Pepe Ribes and Alex Pella’s second place in Calpe enabled them to grab third place in the overall event.
Final rankings
1st Safran. Marc Guillemot. FRA. 11.5 pts
2nd PRB. Vincent Riou. FRA. 18.5 pts
3rd Estrella Damm. P.Ribes / A.Pella. ESP
4th W Hotels-Nova Bocana. P.Rivero/ A.Piris. ESP. 32 pts
5th Movistar. I.Martínez/ X.Fernández. ESP. 35.5 pts
6th GAES Centros Auditivos. D.Caffari / A.Corbella. GBR/ESP. 49 pts
7th Central Lechera Asturiana. J.Merediz / F.Palacio. ESP. 52.5 pts
8th Pakea Bizkaia. J.Mumbrú / C.Sanmarti. ESP. 60 pts
