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Coast 2 Coast 2023: Heat, beach, dunes and rocks mark the start of the Coast 2 Coast Rally in Veracruz
The 60 riders finally saw the start of the competition on the beach of the coast of Veracruz that dressed the colors of the Coast 2 Coast 2023 Rally presented by Red Bull, Jeep, Garmin, Quaker State, BMW Motorrad and VRIMConnect. A short stage of 200 km, but one that left the competitors surprised by how complicated it was due to the navigation and technical parts.
Competitors rolled along the shore of the crystal clear waters of the beach and the sound of the waves dismissed the various vehicles that quickly headed towards the dunes and with this they moved away from the port of Veracruz and have been challenging every kilometer of this unpredictable start of the Coast 2 Coast Rally towards their first destination.
In this start of adrenaline and effort on the dunes, the Pro Motorcycles, Rally 1, Maxi Rally, Quad, Utvs and Rally Experience, Stage One in the Pro-Rally category the winner was the American #9 M. Jhonson, followed by #3 F. Pasquel and in 3rd was #14 S. Bloom; in the Rally1 category the winner was the American, #37 D. Nyguen, in 2nd was the Mexican #29 N. Francisco and closing this category was #28 M. Mendoza.
In the UTV PRO the winner was #107 A. Garza and 2nd place was #105 W. Vazquez. In the Maxitrail category the winner was #70 J. Bolado, followed by #73 M. Varela and 3rd #71 L. Padilla. In the ATV category the first to finish the stage was #50 S. Padilla and 2nd #51 M. Segura. In the UTV Stock category, the first to finish was #104 l. Sanchez, 2nd was #102 M. Concha and the 3rd was #103 A. Perez.
While when they started everything was happiness, smiles and adrenaline could be seen on their faces through their helmets, encouraged by the people who accompanied them at the start of the link and the voice of the count of 5,4,3,2, and 1 filled them with excitement of the challenge to face, not knowing that their first contact with the Coast 2 Coast would be extreme. Some pilots thought that those 40 km of baptism would be just a protocol of the organization and no, they have been hard and complicated. They started at 9 in the morning and 7 hours later the leaders arrived at México Verde, a clamping place with magic, history and environmental sounds that will surely relax them during their stay.
Fernando Pasquel, the first rider to reach the end of link 2, told us about his experience during the day, "It's a very well done route, at the beginning it was very technical, and then it was a short speed stage, and it's like a warm-up to face tomorrow".
The rider Mario Santana said "I had a small fall, this is an occupational hazard so you have to keep going, there was also a WP that I had to turn back, I did not want to open the dunes in the morning, but well that's how it was and I had a great time".
The participant, Arturo Garza commented, "we are very happy to be here, we had our little details, we had a tire blow out. We got lost a few times, but in the end we did a very good job. Our navigation is failing a bit, but with the roadbook we are moving forward. This is our first experience in Rally, the truth is that we came to see these great landscapes and we hope to continue with this rhythm".
The pilot Manolo de la Concha tells us, "we come in white balance, I have a very good co-driver. We got the hang of the grades and I think we are doing very well. We are a little more than I had expected, the bean escaped me, and the stage was excellent. Passing through every town, community or isolated places where few people live and they come out to cheer you on, to see their faces is something that motivates.
The entire organization and participants also enjoyed the gastronomy of Boca del Rio, its ancestral restaurants, unique dishes, moments that you can only experience in a Rally of this caliber.
With the support of the three states of Veracruz, Puebla and Oaxaca, their communities and towns through which the Rally has passed, the 2023 edition of the Coast 2 Coast Cross-Country Rally began successfully.
Automatic translation from the original Spanish version
Source Coast 2 Coast / Epi Press
Helder