ALICANTE, Spain (AP) — Dongfeng Race Team, the Chinese-backed crew whose hopes of victory in the Volvo Ocean Race were rocked when they had to quit the fifth leg because of a broken mast, have bounced back by taking the lead Sunday in the next 5,010-nautical mile stage from Brazil to the U.S.
Dongfeng mast broke about 200 nautical miles from Cape Horn last month and they were forced to limp to Argentina for some makeshift repairs before a new rig was fitted in Itajaí, Brazil.
The sixth leg from Itajaí to Newport, Rhode Island, is promising to be even more closely fought than the previous stages since the race started in Alicante, Spain, last October.
