AIRLIE BEACH, Australia (AP) LMAX Exchange has beaten Great Britain by 42 seconds in a 1,600-nautical-mile Australian leg of the Clipper Round the World race.
The two yachts spent the last 48 hours under near match-racing conditions, but LMAX Exchange edged ahead just before the finish line late Saturday at Pioneer Bay in the Whitsunday region in north Queensland state.
Garmin finished third about 90 minutes later.
Final overall race placings will be determined when all the yachts have completed the leg that began in Hobart, Tasmania, last week.
The race features 12 identical 70-foot (21-meter) yachts. The 10th Clipper race began in London in August, and has completed about half of the 40,000-nautical-mile race.
The seventh leg departs from Airlie Beach on Jan. 18 for Da Nang, Vietnam.
