PHIL SHARP was due to cross the Mini Transat finish line in Salvador, Brazil at around 4 o’clock this afternoon – but whether it would be in third, fourth or even fifth place is still in the balance at lunchtime.

His last known position was at 8 am GMT when he was 63 miles out and still in sixth position after a 3,100-mile single-handed voyage from Lanzarote in the second leg of the race.

The overall placings are based on the combined times at sea in the two legs and Sharp aboard his Le Gallais 419 still had almost a three-hour cushion on Adrien Hardy, the man in front of him on this leg and a contender in the battle for third and a place on the podium.

But Hardy was just 32 miles from the finish and with Sharp sailing at around 8 to 9 knots per hour the result was difficult to predict but the odds were against the Jerseyman.

The other candidate for overall third – and the favourite – is Frenchman Stanislas Maslard.

Sharp had a six-hour lead on him from the first leg.

But at 11.30 am BST the race control office in Salvador reported that Maslard had arrived about four hours earlier and that Sharp had to arrive within two hours to beat him – and was still around 24 miles from the line.

Meanwhile the overall winner is Corentin Douguet.

He secured his victory with two impressive finishes – first in leg one and second in the second.

He crossed the finish line at 23.22 BST last night – almost an hour behind Spaniard Alex Pella who is certain to be second.