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Ericsson Racing Team (STO:ERIC) ERICSSON RACING TEAM FIRST AND SECOND THROUGH SCORING GATE

Ericsson Racing Team (STO:ERIC) STOCKHOLM, Sweden (Nov. 19, 2008) - Ericsson Racing Team strengthened its overall lead in the Volvo Ocean Race this morning when Ericsson 4, skippered by Brazil's Torben Grael, cleared the Leg 2 scoring gate in first place. A few hours later teammate Ericsson 3, led by Sweden's Anders Lewander, cleared the gate in second.

Ericsson 4 was awarded four points for being the first boat to the gate at 058E longitude, while Ericsson 3 received a welcome 3.5 points for crossing second.

"We are well prepared and we have a good boat. The shore crew prepared the boat well for Leg 2," said Grael, the Brazilian Olympic medalist competing in his second Volvo Ocean Race. "We had a good start and sailed well. It's everything put together that made us arrive first at the scoring gate."

"Second at the gate and fifth overall is a morale boost," said Gustav Morin, Ericsson 3 media crewman. "Everyone's quite tired and there are some injuries onboard; everyone has extremely sore hands. This makes it easier to keep on pushing."

The two Ericsson yachts were among the most southerly boats in the fleet this week in their quest for maximum points at the scoring gate. A southerly course meant a shorter distance to the gate, but it came at a price.

The crews have had to contend with very difficult sailing conditions. Windspeeds were steadily around 25 knots with a very confused and steep sea state. Sudden squalls brought winds up to 40 and 50 knots. Both boats broached several times and blew out sails, but haven't reported any major damage.

"It has been a hard five days leading up to the scoring gate," said Horacio Carabelli from Ericsson 4. "The squalls didn't let up and some of them made it very difficult to try and control the boat. One of the 40-knot squalls also gave us hail, which (accumulated) to about one centimeter in the cockpit, and generally this is at night."

Aboard Ericsson 3, Morin reported a very similar story. Besides the sore hands, one crewman, Anders Dahlsjö, injured his ribs when he was washed into a winch handle as the boat submerged in a wave.

"Anders has taken some time off, a few hours more sleep than usual," Morin said. "He was on deck today and is alright, but is in pain. It's a common injury. Magnus (Olsson, watch captain) did it last leg. But they keep working, they're tough guys."

With the scoring gate cleared, the two crews are pushing northwards in calmer conditions and towards warmer climates. Morin reported flat seas, sunny skies and a boatspeed of 24.5 knots.

According to the 1300 GMT position report, Ericsson 3 led the fleet with 2,969 nautical miles to the finish in Cochin, India. Ericsson 4 was third, 23 miles behind. Although there's less than 3,000 miles to go, there are still many minefields ahead to navigate.

"It's not going to be very easy to get first to India," Grael said. "I thought we would pay a higher price for going for first place at the gate, but we are still in good position among the fleet, which is very good for us. It's a difficult leg from now to the finish. We are going to go through many transition areas, at least two or three important ones, and that's going to be decisive."

VOLVO OCEAN RACE LEG 2 LEADERBOARD

(Nov. 20, 2008, 1300 GMT)

1. Ericsson 3, 2,969 nautical miles to finish 2. Puma, 8 NM to leader 3. Ericsson 4, 23 NM to leader 4. Green Dragon, 51 NM to leader 5. Telefónica Blue, 65 NM to leader 6. Kosatka, 89 NM to leader 7. Telefónica Black, 95 NM to leader 8. Delta Lloyd, 192 NM to leader

VOLVO OCEAN RACE OVERALL LEADERBOARD

(After Leg 2 scoring gate)

1. Ericsson 4, 18.0 points (1st at scoring gate) 2. Green Dragon, 14.0 (3rd) 2. Puma, 14.0 (7th) 4. Telefónica Blue, 12.0 (5th) 5. Telefónica Black, 8.5 (6th) 6. Ericsson 3, 8.5 (2nd) 7. Kosatka, 5.5 (4th) 8. Delta Lloyd, 5.0 (still approaching gate)

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Ericsson Racing Team

http://www.ericssonracingteam.com

ISIN: SE0000108656

Stock Identifier: SSE.ERICR

US: ERICY

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