Dongfeng Race Team lead Volvo Ocean Race

Led by experienced Frenchman Charles Caudrelier, the squad includes no less than six rookie Chinese sailors and very few observers had considered them among the pre-race favourites at the beginning of the 12th edition.

A pair of narrow runners-up places in the opening two legs has left them tied at the top of the standings with Team Brunel and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, on four points apiece.

In the third leg between Abu Dhabi and their home port of Sanya, the Chinese-backed boat is currently showing the rest of the fleet that its flying start is no fluke.

After five days of sailing and 948 nautical miles (nm) of the 4,670nm leg behind them, they protected a narrow lead of nine nm over Team Brunel on Thursday.

There is still a long way to go, including the very hazardous Malacca Strait, but victory in Sanya would put Caudrelier's crew in the 41-year-old race's record books as the first Chinese boat to win a leg.

Additionally, they would take the outright lead going into the fourth leg to Auckland.