The two Dutch-skippered teams in the Volvo Ocean Race, team AkzoNobel and Team Brunel are leapfrogging over each other in a bid to set and hold a new 24 hour distance record.

Team Brunel, at the head of the Volvo Ocean Race fleet on Leg 9 from Newport, USA to Cardiff, Wales, was the first to set a new 24-hour distance record in the Volvo Ocean 65 class.

Bouwe Bekking's team blew past the previous record of 550.8 nautical miles set in the last race by Abu Dhabi Racing just after 14:00 UTC on Thursday afternoon.

But they didn't hold the record for long. Simeon Tienpont's team AkzoNobel soon bettered their rival and the teams traded blows in ideal speed-making conditions in the North Atlantic.

As at 17:06 UTC, the best run for team AkzoNobel was 566.02 nautical miles, while Team Brunel had posted 563.06 nm.

UPDATE: At 1900 UTC Team Brunel had posted 576.34 nautical miles and team AkzoNobel 579.12 nm.

www.volvooceanrace.com

from Scuttlebutt