ClipperTelemed+ has won Race 11, The LMAX Exchange – RACE of THE AMERICAS, its first overall race win and second podium of the series. The team, skippered by Matt Mitchell, crossed the finish line at 1442 UTC today, 9 June after overtaking Garmin in the night following a fraught battle between the two teams at the top of the leaderboard over the last four days.
ClipperTelemed+ beat Garmin to the finish of the race from Panama by around nine nautical miles. Garmin was also seeking its first overall race win, despite achieving five previous podiums already during the series so far, and finished in second place at 1535 UTC. Visit Seattle finished in third place at 1919 UTC, its first podium and best result of the series so far.
Celebrating its win, ClipperTelemed+ Skipper Matt Mitchell said: “The team are ecstatic about winning the LMAX Exchange – RACE of THE AMERICAS. We've been putting in 110% every minute of this race, coupled with a couple of good decisions along the way means that we have secured victory for the first time since leaving London. It's a very special moment for us and we couldn't be more pleased.”
ClipperTelemed+ celebrated its first podium of the series when the team finished second into Panama on the previous race, Race 10, the PSP Logistics Panama Cup.
ClipperTelemed+ is due into Liberty Landing Marina, New Jersey, around 1800 local time tonight following the motorsail from the finish line to the marina.
Speaking about his team's performance on Race 11, which included an extra three Scoring Gate points, Garmin Skipper Ash Skett said his crew had sailed really well throughout this race.
“Although we are disappointed after once again finishing second after leading for the majority of the race, it is still a brilliant result and credit should be given to the team for staying focused and working hard.
“Congratulations to Matt and his ClipperTelemed+ team, they were pushing just as hard as we were and it was a very close finish in the end.
“For us, we can take solace in the fact that we took more points from this race than anyone else and there are still three races left to clinch that elusive race win,” Ash added.
Garmin is due into Liberty Landing between 1900 and 2000 tonight, local time, and Visit Seattle between 2300 and 0000.
For the latest ETAs for all teams, click here.
