Ocean Race: Groupama claims victory as wins final leg

New Zealand yacht Camper on Tuesday won the the ninth and final leg of the Volvo Ocean Race, but it was the boat finishing second, France's Groupama 4, which claimed the overall around-the-world title. Camper, skippered by Australian Chris Nicholson, crossed the finishing line in Galway at 04:42 GST - seven minutes ahead of the Franck Cammas-skippered Groupama 4. Cammas, 39, is the first Frenchman to win the competition - considered the pinnacle of ocean racing -- since Lionel Pean led Team Spirit to victory in the 1985-1986 edition. After Puma, Telefonica, Groupama and Camper With Emirates Team New Zealand around Fastnet Rock, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing's Azzam came fifth, with the chance of finishing the ocean race as it began last November in Spain: with unlucky damage. "We normally struggle a bit," the skipper Ian Walker said to the race website, "but now we're struggling a lot. I suspect we've got some damage to our keel, but there's no way to find out till Galway." Camper's stage win was its first since the race began in Alicante, Spain, on October 29, but Groupama had a 25-point lead over second-place Puma in the overall standings, with 225 points built on two leg wins, two second-place finishes and three thirds. The fleet has since completed a 39,270-nautical mile, nine-month journey visiting five continents including stops in South Africa, Abu Dhabi, China, New Zealand, Brazil, the US, Portugal, and France before finishing in Ireland.