Azzam need only finish sixth to collect in-port title

The main objective already accomplished, the Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing team will approach the final in-port race with the same approach as all the previous ones. Ian Roman / Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing

GOTHENBURG // The Azzam crew may have relaxed on the final leg of the Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) but it is not in the nature of skipper Ian Walker or any of his crew to not compete if there is a trophy at stake.

The Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ador) team could afford to finish fifth on that final leg because the trophy had already been secured after Leg 8 from Lisbon in Portugal to Lorient in France.

Complacency is not in the nature, nor is it a trait of the Ador team, though, so do not expect Azzam to ease up in the final in-port race of the 2014/15 VOR on Saturday to be held in the waters off this harbour city on Sweden’s west coast.

Ador also sit on top of the In-Port Series leaderboard, six points ahead of the boat from the Netherlands, Team Brunel, and are favourites to complete what would be an impressive double.

They need only to finish sixth in the final in-port race to secure the series victory.

As with the race legs, Azzam’s consistency during the In-Port Series has stood out, with seven podium finishes in the nine races and an outright win in Cape Town.

As with the overall race, Walker and his team have planned meticulously for each in-port battle, never treating it as anything other than another competition to win.

The significance of the In-Port Series was not apparent before the race began in October.

The points accumulated do not count towards an overall points tally.

Only in case there was a points tie in the race proper would the in-port performances come into play, as a tiebreaker.

With the VOR traversing 39,000 nautical miles a tie seemed an improbable situation. But as the race progressed and it became evident that the boats and their crews were extremely evenly matched – highlighted by a series of spectacular close finishes – the In-Port Series grew in ­importance.

In the end, the in-port races have not been needed to decide the overall winner but, on Saturday, Team Alvimedica and Team Mapfre will use the race to break their tie for fourth in the overall results after both boats finished the race legs on 34 points.

In the In-Port Series, Alvimedica are in third place, just two points ahead of Mapfre in fifth place, and both have much to sail for on Saturday.

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