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Ericsson Racing Team (STO:ERIC) ERICSSON RACING TEAM'S YACHTS REELING IN FLEET LEADER

Ericsson Racing Team (STO:ERIC) STOCKHOLM, Sweden (Dec. 18, 2008) - The past 24 hours may have been rough, but Ericsson Racing Team's yachts in the Volvo Ocean Race have steadily reeled in Leg 3 leader Telefónica Blue.

Yesterday the two blue yachts with orange bows were some 40 nautical miles behind. Today, skipper Torben Grael and Ericsson 4, the overall race leader, is a mere 7 miles behind. Anders Lewander's Ericsson 3 is 28 miles back.

Both boats made up considerable distance in some tricky sailing. The team's pre-leg strategy centered on being north for better pressure crossing the Bay of Bengal, and that decision is finally bearing fruit.

"As expected, better breeze to the north and the inevitable need of Telefónica Blue to tack north, thereby losing miles to the scoring gate, has allowed the Ericsson Racing Team boats and the rest of the fleet in the north to close the distance and tighten this race up considerably," said team meteorologist Chris Bedford. "Ericsson 3 has, in particular, done a nice job picking a lane to get north and get into third place. It is very tight with Puma and Telefónica Black for Ericsson 3, so no rest for the weary."

The crew aboard Ericsson 3 has found new life on the leg that began with frustration.

"We basically always positioned ourselves on the preferred side of the different medium-sized cloud clusters, which enabled us to play some huge wind shifts through the night," said navigator Aksel Magdahl. "When we got in touch with Green Dragon, we went just a little further than them before a tack, and slowly passed them sailing in a better shift. It actually gave us most the distance we have on them now. It was difficult with wind shifts not forecasted, but satellite pictures helped a lot in this largest thunderstorm area I have ever seen."

Life aboard the yachts is far from easy. Weaving between squall cells to keep the pace up has meant many sail changes. The changes combined with sailing upwind in a choppy seaway, has made sleeping near impossible as crews are being thrown from their bunks when they're not on deck gathering a sail.

A welcome diversion is the passing of a birthday, and today Ericsson 4 navigator Jules Salter turned 40.

"He was his usual flamboyant and jolly self," Ericsson 4 media crewman Guy Salter, Jules' brother, said wryly. "He happily sat at his nav desk in his pants (must be turning Brazilian!). Not sure what will happen with the approaching mid-life crisis, but I doubt the Harley Davidson and leather jacket will be enough for Jules after going round the world. I'm sure his mid-life will more likely involve a comfortable sofa, plenty of Coronation Street, a nice cup of tea and a fish sandwich. Hold on a second, I think he is already having it."

Positioning is critical because the scoring gate is about 300 nautical miles away and the finish line in Singapore less than 900 miles away. With conditions in the Malacca Strait far from certain, it'll be crucial to be in the lead at the scoring gate as the last 500 miles or so may be a parade with little or no opportunity to pass.

"We're expecting the boats to be near the scoring gate late tomorrow night, GMT time," said Bedford. "It's going to be close, so get ready to spend tomorrow close to your computer as the boats approach this important point in the leg."

VOLVO OCEAN RACE LEG 3 LEADERBOARD (Dec. 18, 2008, 1300 GMT) 1. Telefónica Blue, 869 nautical miles to finish 2. Ericsson 4, +7 NM 3. Ericsson 3, +28 NM 4. Telefónica Black, +30 NM 5. Puma, +32 NM 6. Green Dragon, +41 NM 7. Kosatka, +104 NM 8. Delta Lloyd, +122 NM

ENDS

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Ericsson Racing Team

http://www.ericssonracingteam.com

ISIN: SE0000108656

Stock Identifier: SSE.ERICR

US: ERICY

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