With just a few hundred miles left to sail, Jez Fanstone's NewsCorp has been ruled out of contention in the fourth leg of the Volvo Ocean Race after the rudder broke off during the sprint up the coast of Brazil.

Earlier in the leg, the boat hit a growler in the Southern Ocean though no damage was reported. But yesterday, as co-skipper Ross Field was steering, it broke off under the hull and drifted off into the ocean.

NewsCorp is continuing to race with an emergency rudder but last night had dropped back to sixth place, some 200 miles behind leaders illbruck Team SEB, which was dismasted last week and retired from the leg.