This story has been updated at 2240 UTC on Friday 26 May, and will be updated again on Saturday morning with the latest figures.

Incredibly, Team Malizia appears to have set a new 24 hour monohull distance record, besting the mark set earlier Friday - 640.91 nautical miles - by Team Holcim-PRB, by the narrowest of margins.

Racing into the record-breaking conditions in third place, Team Malizia was the last of the leading trio to start piling up the miles.

But skipper Boris Herrmann and his team have kept pushing the pace in the strong winds and relatively flat seas and at approximately 2240 UTC, posted a 24-hour distance of 641.08 nautical miles, to raise the bar even futher.

And even this distance may increase in the hours after this story is posted.

© Antoine Auriol / Team Malizia / The ocean race

It's been a magical 36 hours for the leading three IMOCAs, all of whom continue at better than a 605-mile pace, which continues to beat the previous record for The Ocean Race of 602 nautical miles.

Records aren't just falling - they are being shattered.

See the previous 'record breaking' story from Friday

Please note that all 'records' are based on mileage recorded by the Race Management System and are subject to ratificantion by the World Sailing Speed Record Council.

* For a time on Friday night (UTC), the public tracker showed a slightly higher 24 hour mileage for Team Malizia than the Race Management System (RMS). We apologise for any confusion and note that the RMS numbers given out on The Ocean Race platforms should be the reference. 

Peter Rush

www.theoceanrace.com

Cover photo © Antoine Auriol / Team Malizia / The ocean race