The Ocean Race 2022-23: 11th Hour Racing Team allowed to replace damaged foils ahead of bumper Leg 3

11th Hour Racing Team have been granted permission to replace their damaged foils before Leg 3 of The Ocean Race 2022-23.

Rules, namely Notice of Race 6.4, state that teams are only allowed to use one set of foils during the entire race.

However, teams can apply to replace a foil if it “suffers serious damage that cannot be repaired before a leg start”.

Race director Phil Lawrence said: “After examining the foils and considering the technical reports supplied by the team and speaking with their designers, the Race Committee is satisfied the damage to the foils on 11th Hour Racing Team could not be repaired in time for the start of Leg 3.

“The request to substitute foils has been approved.”

11th Hour Racing Team said it had found serious damage to both foils after the boat had undergone surface Non-Destructive Testing in Cape Town after Leg 2, concluding that the foils would require extensive repair.

Those repairs, they said, could not be completed before the boats depart on February 26 for Leg 3.

Leg 3 is the longest in the race’s history and sees the fleet travel 12,750 nautical miles from Cape Town to Itajai, Brazil.

Double points are up for grabs on the arduous leg, with points split between the finishing positions and the order at which the teams pass the longitude of 143 degrees east.

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