Mustafa Ingham admits that he and his InfoTrack team-mates’ podium display in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race exceeded their expectations.

Christian Beck’s 100-foot super maxi finished second in an overall fleet of 157 entries, the fourth largest number of boats in the race’s history, after completing the 628-nautical mile course with an elapsed time of 1 day, 19hr 14min 42sec.

“The race went better than expected,” Ingham said. “We were first out of Sydney Heads which helped heaps so we could focus on playing defence and watching what the other boats were doing.”

InfoTrack crossed the finish line in the port city of Hobart at 8.14am on Friday, 44 minutes behind race winner and record holder Comanche, having set sail from Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day.

“This is the second-best race in my experience, the first would be winning the first race of the Red Bull Youth Americas Cup in 2017,” Ingham added.

InfoTrack’s podium finish was an improvement on their fourth-place finish last year after a protracted battle with Wild Oats XI, Black Jack and Comanche.

Ingham was making his second straight appearance in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race, having made his debut in the prestigious offshore race last year. The 23-year-old obtained offshore yachtmaster status after completing an apprenticeship at the Volvo Ocean Race Academy in 2017 during which he met one of his mentors who was influential in getting him involved in the Sydney Hobart Race last year when he also made his offshore racing debut.

“It’s such an honour to be a part of such an iconic race,” Ingham said. “It’s so beautiful seeing whales, dolphins and just being out there with Mother Nature.

“Overall, it’s an amazing experience and I owe Tony Mutter and Joe Akisich a huge thank-you for putting such an amazing team together and also to Laura Morrissey, my girlfriend, for supporting me through the whole training month.”

Comanche, the 2016 Newport to Bermuda Race winner, holds the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race course record, which stands at 19:36:09, as well as the Newport Bermuda Race record, which stands at 34:42:53.

Beck’s super maxi is also a former Sydney Hobart Race winner and course record holder, as well as a two-times Newport Bermuda Race winner.

Ingham was one of two Bermuda sailors involved in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race this year, the other being Emily Nagel.

Nagel competed on board Sean Langman’s 69-foot yacht, Naval Group, that finished eighth with an elapsed time of 2 days, 4:06:32 to achieve their goal of improving upon their eleventh-place showing last year.

Nagel has a master’s degree in engineering with naval architecture.