# 2001–2002 Volvo Ocean Race

The 2001–02 Volvo Ocean Race was the eighth edition of the around-the-world sailing event Volvo Ocean Race, and the first under the name Volvo Ocean Race. For the 2001–02 the sponsorship of the race was taken over by Volvo and Volvo Cars. The race was renamed the Volvo Ocean Race. Stopovers were added in Germany, France, and Sweden being the Volvo's three biggest car markets in Europe. In addition the points system had been modified significantly in an effort to keep the race competitive until the final leg. The previous "points" race having been effectively won two full legs before the final gun.
John Kostecki, who had co-skippered with George Collins on Chessie Racing in the 1997 to 1998 Whitbread to great effect, captained his first Volvo Ocean race winner in 2002. Assa Abloy's new composite mold technique proved very quick, but not quite quick enough, while long time Whitbread skipper Grant Dalton's two boat syndicate suffered badly from a lack of preparation time (the Amer boats were last in the water).
For Leg 3, yachts joined the iconic Australian 2001 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race that begins on Boxing Day (the day after Christmas Day).

## Participants

| Boat | Nation | Designer | Skipper |
| Amer Sports One | New Zealand | Mani Frers | Grant Dalton |
| Amer Sports Too | United Kingdom | Farr Yacht Design | Lisa McDonald |
| Assa Abloy | Sweden | Farr Yacht Design | Roy Heiner Neal McDonald |
| Djuice Dragons | Norway | Laurie Davidson | Knut Frostad |
| Illbruck Challenge | Germany | Farr Yacht Design | John Kostecki |
| Team News Corp | Australia | Farr Yacht Design | Jez Fanstone |
| Team SEB | Sweden | Farr Yacht Design | Gurra Krantz |
| Team Tyco | Bermuda | Farr Yacht Design | Kevin Shoebridge |
Lisa and Neal McDonald, skippers of rival boats, are husband and wife.

## Route

| Event | Start date | Finish date | Start | Finish | Distance (nmi) | Winner |
| Leg 1 | 23 September 2001 | 23 October 2001 | Southampton | Cape Town | 7,350 | Illbruck Challenge |
| Leg 2 | 11 November 2001 | 4 December 2001 | Cape Town | Sydney | 6,550 | Illbruck Challenge |
| Leg 3 | 26 December 2001 | 3 January 2002 | Sydney | Auckland | 2,050 | Assa Abloy |
| Leg 4 | 27 January 2002 | 19 February 2002 | Auckland | Rio de Janeiro | 6,700 | Illbruck Challenge |
| Leg 5 | 22 March 2002 | 27 March 2002 | Rio de Janeiro | Miami | 4,450 | Assa Abloy |
| Leg 6 | 14 April 2002 | 17 April 2002 | Miami | Baltimore | 875 | Team News Corp |
| Leg 7 | 28 April 2002 | 11 May 2002 | Annapolis | La Rochelle | 3,400 | Illbruck Challenge |
| Leg 8 | 25 May 2002 | 31 May 2002 | La Rochelle | Gothenburg | 1,075 | Assa Abloy |
| Leg 9 | 8 June 2002 | 9 June 2002 | Gothenburg | Kiel | 250 | Djuice Dragons |

## Leg Results

| # | Boat | Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Leg 4 | Leg 5 | Leg 6 | Leg 7 | Leg 8 | Leg 9 | Total |
| 1 | Illbruck Challenge | 8 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 61 |
| 2 | Assa Abloy | 4 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 55 |
| 3 | Amer Sports One | 7 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 44 |
| 4 | Team Tyco | 5 | 1 DNF | 6 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 42 |
| 5 | Team News Corp | 6 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 41 |
| 6 | Djuice Dragons | 2 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 33 |
| 7 | Team SEB | 3 | 7 | 1 DNF | 1 DNF | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 32 |
| 8 | Amer Sports Too | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 DNF | 1 | 5 | 16 |

## Overall Results

| Pos | Sail Number | Yacht | Country | Yacht Type | LOA (Metres) | Skipper | Points |
| 1 | GER 4014 | Illbruck Challenge | Germany | Farr Volvo Ocean 60 | 19.40 | John Kostecki | 61 |
| 2 | SWE 1645 | Assa Abloy | Sweden | Farr Volvo Ocean 60 | 19.40 | Roy Heiner Neal McDonald | 55 |
| 3 | EUR 1 | Amer Sports One | Italy | Frers Volvo Ocean 60 | 19.40 | Grant Dalton | 44 |
| 4 | BER 2001 | Team Tyco | Bermuda | Farr Volvo Ocean 60 | 19.40 | Kevin Shoebridge | 42 |
| 5 | AUS 9011 | Team News Corp | Australia | Farr Volvo Ocean 60 | 19.40 | Jez Fanstone | 41 |
| 6 | NOR 2 | Djuice Dragons | Norway | Davidson Volvo Ocean 60 | 19.40 | Knut Frostad | 33 |
| 7 | SWE 20001 | Team SEB | Sweden | Farr Volvo Ocean 60 | 19.40 | Gunnar Krantz | 32 |
| 8 | EUR 2 | Amer Sports Too | Italy | Farr Volvo Ocean 60 | 19.40 | Lisa McDonald | 16 |
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