Abu Dhabi closes in on Volvo Ocean Race victory

LORIENT, France (AP) Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing closed in on the overall victory in the Volvo Ocean Race after finishing third on the eighth leg from Lisbon to Lorient.

The Emirati team holds a big lead over Dutch boat Team Brunel ahead of the final leg to Goteborg, Sweden, and should lift the trophy on June 27 barring a major mishap.

Abu Dhabi skipper Ian Walker said ''it's not really sunk in yet. When we passed the finish line we all went quiet and asked ourselves `is that it?'''

The all-female crew of Team SCA of Sweden won the eighth leg on Thursday ahead of Team Vestas Wind of Denmark.

The ninth leg of the around-the-world race starts Tuesday.