British skipper leads race to win BT Global Challenge

by Ali Layton 28 Jun 2001 17:41 BST

LG FLATRON, current race leaders of the BT Global Challenge 2000/2001, set sail from La Rochelle on Tuesday 26 June on the final leg of what is turning out to be the most dramatic finish in the race’s history. Close rivals LG FLATRON, skippered by Conrad Humphreys from Devon, and Compaq NonStop, skippered by Will Oxley from Queensland, Australia are battling it out to claim victory in the race and their name on the prestigious Princess Royal trophy.

LG FLATRON departed Cape Town for La Rochelle on May 13 for the penultimate leg of the race, safe in the knowledge that they had a clear 12 points advantage over the remainder of the fleet and could possibly claim the BT Global Challenge title if they remained in the top five places on arrival into La Rochelle. However, after 39 days at sea, LG FLATRON crossed the La Rochelle finish line in their most disappointing leg, only managing to take eighth position, with closest competitor, Compaq NonStop taking first place in the sixth leg of this 30,00 mile round the world yacht race.

Skipper, Conrad Humphreys remains positive, believing that the outcome of Leg Six has strengthened his team’s resolve to secure its leadership in the final leg into Southampton on 30 June.

"The last leg opened up a new dimension of the BT Global Challenge for all of us on LG FLATRON", said Conrad Humphreys. "We've come through it a much closer and stronger team and individually crew members have drawn on talents we've not called on before. I'm confident LG FLATRON can win the BT Global Challenge and we have our sights firmly set on giving a convincing performance in this final leg", he concluded.

LG FLATRON has won three out of six legs in this round the world yacht race, which has taken a fleet of 12 identical yachts to Boston, Buenos Aires, Wellington, Sydney, Cape Town, La Rochelle and now on the way home to Southampton. The only yacht that can possibly beat LG FLATRON to the title is Compaq NonStop. Strengthened by their winning position into La Rochelle and now only five points behind LG FLATRON, the short sprint across to Southampton is unfolding into a head to head with both crews going all out in order to establish an advantage.

Having returned to British waters after 10 months, Conrad Humphreys and the crew of LG FLATRON are literally match racing with a fraction of a mile separating the two yachts. The finish line, positioned in Southampton Water, is just over 400 miles away and unless Compaq NonStop create a significant lead of more than five positions, it will be LG FLATRON’s race.

The fleet are expected to cross the finish line on Saturday 30 June after 14.00 GMT. Race Village, based in Ocean Village, Southampton will be teaming with thousands of family, friends and supporters, welcoming home the crews of the BT Global Challenge 2000 / 2001. Live race footage will be shown on the large screen in Race Village, capturing the battle to the finish line and all the celebrations or commiserations that may follow, along with many other activities over the Homecoming weekend.

Results after Leg 6:

Pos	Yacht	Leg 1	Leg 2	Leg 3	Leg 4	Leg 5	Leg 6	Leg 7	Pts
1	LG FLATRON	13	15	15	14	15	8	-	80
2	Compaq	12	12	13	12	11	15	-	75
3	BP	14	9	5	15	12	13	-	68
4	Logica	7	13	8	13	8	14	-	63
5	Quadstone	15	10	11	3	13	6	-	58
6	Spirit of Hong Kong	8	14	6	9	7	11	-	55
7	TeamSpirIT	6	6	12	11	10	9	-	54
7	Isle of Man	10	7	10	8	9	10	-	54
9	Norwich Union	5	5	9	6	14	8	-	47
10	VERITAS	11	8	7	10	6	5	-	47
11	Olympic Group	4	11	14	7	5	3	-	44
12	Save the Children	7	4	4	5	5	7	-	32